Standfirst have been powering some of Britain’s biggest publishing brands for almost 30 years. We’re publishers ourselves through Design Week. Publishing is sort of our thing.
For most of our projects we choose Standfirst Publish – our own framework based on WordPress – as the CMS solution. It allows us to create fully customised themes and workflows tailored to any customer’s requirements.
However this is something of a one-size-fits all solution, and there aren’t many industries where that works. Many customers need a solid, branded site to publish their work but only have a modest budget to achieve it. For start-ups and small businesses, we offer our Ghost service: a lean, fast, simple and cost effective way to get your work out there.
Both services will deliver an excellent site, but which is best for your business?
WordPress: Built for growth and flexibility
If your business is planning to scale, WordPress is hard to beat. With its massive ecosystem of plugins, themes, and integrations, it’s designed for flexibility and long-term growth. It’s particularly well suited to businesses that expect to grow, need advanced functionality, or rely on complex integrations.
Through Standfirst Publish, we utilise WordPress’s flexibility to create a site that matches a customer’s exact workflow, branding, and support any plans for future growth. We’re able to create a feature-rich website that can integrate subscriptions, e-commerce, building a membership community, events, or any other complex requirements.
This flexibility and customisation comes with an investment. Setting up and maintaining WordPress usually requires more time, resources, and technical management than leaner platforms. But for businesses viewing their website as a long-term strategic asset, that investment pays off – delivering a future-proof platform that can adapt and grow as they do.
Ghost: Simple, fast, and publisher-friendly
Ghost takes a different approach. It’s ideal for start-ups, creators, and small businesses who want to get online quickly and focus on content rather than configuration. Built around a clean and distraction-free publishing experience, Ghost allows you to launch a professional site with less effort and lower costs.
Out of the box, Ghost delivers speed, SEO-friendliness, and ease of maintenance. You don’t need to worry about managing a complex system, which makes it appealing to smaller teams or solo publishers who want to spend more time writing and less time tinkering with settings. You can get started quickly with an off the shelf theme, or Standfirst can create a custom theme to better suit your brand.
The investment required to run Ghost is generally lower than WordPress, both in terms of setup and ongoing management. It’s a leaner option that doesn’t compromise on quality, making it perfect for those who need a polished, professional site without the overhead of a larger system.
Which is right for you?
It depends what your requirements are, your needs as a business, and where you are on your journey.
WordPress is versatile, powerful, and built for tackling a wide variety of challenges, though it requires a higher investment in time and resources. Ghost, while lacking flexibility, is lean and high-performance, primed to get you up and running as soon as possible with less overheads. Plus, it has a cool name.
Still undecided? Drop us a message.
