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How To Manage Content Using the Ghost Blogging Platform

PostedOctober 16, 2013 32.3k views Ghost

Introduction


Ghost is an exciting new blogging platform that can be used to easily manage your posts, update themes, and edit content. A simple, yet powerful interface allows you to get to work immediately and publish beautiful results.

In this guide, we will discuss how to use Ghost to create and manage your content. In the second half of the article, we will discuss how to change themes and adjust basic settings.

We assume that you have used the DigitalOcean Ghost one-click application to deploy your server.

We also assume that you have completed the basic Ghost configuration outlined in this guide. You should be able to access your blog by going to your domain name.

How to Navigate the Content Interface


Ghost's content creation interface is incredibly simple. We can access our content by going to:

your_domain_name/ghost

You may have to sign in with the credentials you used to create the site. After that, you will be taken to the "content" tab, which is exactly where we want to be:

Ghost content tab

You will see the pre-configured sample post called "Welcome to Ghost". Currently, it is the only post that we have on our blog.

As we add content, each new post will get a tab on the left-hand side. If we select any of these posts, a preview will be displayed on the right side. This represents how the content will be displayed on our site.

In the preview pane, we can see two buttons useful for editing.

How To Adjust Post Information


The gear is for adjusting the settings for the post:

Ghost post configuration

If you click it, you can adjust the URL snippet that will be used to refer to the post. By default, this will be an adjusted string made from the post title.

You will also have the option to edit the post date. This date must be in the past and must be in the following format:

DD MMM YY
[08 Oct 13]

This is also where you can delete a post. Click on the "Delete" button:

Ghost delete post button

You will be asked to confirm this action to avoid accidentally destroying a post:

Ghost confirm post deletion

How To Edit a Post


The pencil icon next to the gear is used to edit the current post. If we click it, we will be taken to the editing interface:

Ghost edit post

You will be taken to a screen where you can edit on the left side and see the results on the right side. Ghost uses markdown, a simple markup language, to create post content.

If you need some help with markdown syntax, you can either visit the markdown site linked to above, or click on the in-site shortcut button that ghost provides.

It is in the upper-right corner of the editing half (left pane) in the editor window:

Ghost markdown help button

A reference sheet will pop up with the appropriate way to style different elements in your page.

Ghost markdown reference sheet

When you are done editing, click on the "Update Post" button in the lower-right corner:

Ghost update post

You may notice that you also have a gear icon in this interface. It provides a consistent menu that mirrors the gears in the other screen.

If you wish to take a post down from the public site, but not delete it, you can unpublish it by clicking on the arrow to the right of the Update button:

Ghost unpublish button

The button will change to a red "unpublish" button. Click the button to confirm.

Ghost unpublish confirm

How to Create a New Post


To create a new post, you can either click the green box with a plus in it on the content page:

Ghost create page

Or, you can click on the "New Post" button that is present in the top navigation bar on all pages:

Ghost new post

You will be taken to the editor screen, just like when you edit a post. This time, all fields will be blank.

Choose a title and begin writing your post in the left-hand side.

Ghost example post

You can save your progress in the lower-bottom corner by clicking the "Save Draft" button:

Ghost save draft

When you are ready to publish, click on the arrow to the right of the "Save Draft" button and select "Publish Now":

Ghost publish now select

Now, click the red "Publish Now" button to confirm:

Ghost publish now confirm

Continuing...


You should now have a good idea how to navigate the content management pages of Ghost. You can create posts, update posts, and delete content easily.

In the next section, we will demonstrate how to adjust your Ghost theme and settings.

By Justin Ellingwood

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