Guide to Creating a Custom Website with Ghost and Deploying to Akash

Ghost is an open-source platform for professional content creators. It’s widely used for blogging, newsletters, and websites that prioritize simplicity and performance. Ghost is built on Node.js and offers features such as:

1. Modern Editing: Markdown-based editor for creating visually rich content.
2. Built-in SEO and Social Tools: Simplifies optimization for search engines and social media.
3. Custom Themes: Flexibility to create unique designs with handlebars templates or buy premium themes.
4. APIs for Custom Integration: Ghost provides robust APIs for integrating with other tools.
5. Self-hosting or Managed Hosting: You can host Ghost on your own server or use Ghost Pro (managed hosting).

Steps to Create and Deploy a Custom Ghost Website to Akash

1. Set Up Ghost Locally

Install Ghost CLI

Ghost CLI is a command-line tool for installing and managing Ghost.

npm install -g ghost-cli

Create a New Ghost Instance

1. Create a directory for your project and navigate to it:

   mkdir my-ghost-site && cd my-ghost-site

2. Install Ghost:

   ghost install local

3. Access the local site in your browser at http://localhost:2368.

Customize Your Ghost Website

1. Choose or Create a Theme:

   • Download a theme from Ghost Marketplace.
   • Or, create a custom theme following the Ghost Theme Documentation.

   Place the theme in the content/themes directory.

2. Activate the Theme:

   • Access the admin panel at http://localhost:2368/ghost.
   • Upload and activate your theme under “Settings > Design.”

3. Add content, configure SEO settings, and preview your website.

2. Prepare Ghost for Deployment

1. Export Data (Optional): If you already have content, export it from the admin panel (Settings > Labs > Export).

2. Set Up Production Configuration: Update the config.production.json file with your production settings:

   {
       "url": "https://your-domain.com",
       "server": {
           "port": 2368,
           "host": "0.0.0.0"
       },
       "database": {
           "client": "sqlite3",
           "connection": {
               "filename": "/path/to/ghost/content/data/ghost.db"
           }
       },
       "mail": {
           "transport": "Direct"
       },
       "logging": {
           "level": "info"
       },
       "process": "systemd"
   }

3. Package Ghost for Akash

Create a Dockerfile

Build a Docker image to containerize Ghost for Akash.

FROM ghost:latest

# Set the working directory
WORKDIR /var/lib/ghost

# Copy custom content
COPY ./content /var/lib/ghost/content

# Expose the Ghost port
EXPOSE 2368

# Start Ghost
CMD ["npm", "start"]

Build and Push the Docker Image

1. Build the Docker image:

   docker build -t your-dockerhub-username/ghost-custom .

2. Push the image to Docker Hub:

   docker push your-dockerhub-username/ghost-custom

4. Deploy Ghost on Akash

Install Akash CLI

Follow the installation instructions from the Akash CLI Guide.

Create an SDL File

Define the deployment parameters in an SDL file (deploy.yaml):

version: "2.0"

services:
  ghost:
    image: your-dockerhub-username/ghost-custom:latest
    expose:
      - port: 2368
        as: 80
        to:
          - global: true

profiles:
  compute:
    ghost:
      resources:
        cpu:
          units: 1
        memory:
          size: 512Mi
        storage:
          size: 1Gi

  placement:
    default:
      attributes:
        region: us-west
      signedBy:
        anyOf:
          - "akash1abcd...xyz"
      pricing:
        ghost:
          denom: uakt
          amount: 100

deployment:
  ghost:
    profiles:
      - compute: ghost
        placement: default
    count: 1

Deploy to Akash

1. Deploy the application:

   provider-services tx deployment create deploy.yaml --from your-wallet

2. Check the status of your deployment:

   provider-services query deployment list --owner your-wallet-address

Point a Domain to Your Akash Deployment

1. Get the public IP of your deployment.
2. Configure your DNS settings to point your domain to this IP.

5. Verify and Maintain

1. Access your website using your domain.
2. Monitor logs to ensure smooth operation:

   docker logs -f <container_id>

3. Update Ghost or your custom theme when needed.

This guide gives you a flexible and cost-effective way to host your Ghost website on the Akash decentralized cloud.