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Ghost’s built-in membership system lets you collect emails, offer free tiers, and sell subscriptions without duct-taping a dozen plugins. Here is a practical setup path and how your theme should support it.
Core concepts
- Members — People who create an account on your site (free or paid).
- Tiers — Free, paid monthly, yearly, or complementary products you define.
- Portal — The account and signup UI readers use to subscribe, manage billing, and sign in.
Setup checklist
- Enable Members in Ghost Admin and connect Stripe for paid plans.
- Create at least one free tier so visitors can join your list without paying.
- Configure Portal text, benefits, and branding so it matches your publication voice.
- Set post visibility to public, members-only, or paid-only per piece.
- Send a test email and confirm links resolve on your live domain.
Where themes matter
Bad themes hide signup, clash with Portal styling, or bury member CTAs. Good themes surface subscribe actions in the header, footer, and post footers without feeling spammy.
What to verify on your site
- Signup buttons are visible on mobile.
- Member-only posts show a clear paywall message.
- Accent colors from Brand settings feel consistent with Portal.
Premium themes built for this workflow
Zora is designed alongside Ghost’s membership model: layouts that present tiers clearly and keep long-form reading pleasant for both anonymous and logged-in readers. If monetization is part of your roadmap, test your member flows every time you change themes.
Ship a small paid or members-only post early—even behind a low price—to learn support and churn before your audience scales.
