Overview
Is your Ghost blog ready for 2025’s speed-first, AI-summarized web? Neue suits this requirement because it pairs a crisp magazine aesthetic with simple controls and plenty of Ghost-native features. If you publish regularly and care about clean reading, consistent branding, and memberships, this theme checks the right boxes.
TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- Clean, lightweight magazine design with fast performance and responsive layouts.
- Ghost-native features out of the box: comments, recommendations, portal, memberships.
- Easy branding: logo/icon/cover, typography, 10+ color schemes, dark logo.
- Multiple post templates (Regular, Wide, Full, No Image) and related posts options.
- Thoughtful UX extras: dropdown navigation, extended social links, announcement bar.
What makes Neue unique?
Neue focuses on native Ghost features and simple controls—so you can brand the site, enable memberships, and adjust layouts (including multiple post templates and color schemes) without touching code.
Theme Overview
Neue is a clean, lightweight Ghost theme aimed at bloggers and publishers who want a minimal magazine look without setup headaches. You get a fast, responsive layout, easy customization in Ghost Admin, and a feature set aligned with Ghost’s current core (memberships, comments, recommendations, portal). It’s a practical choice for design, tech, and lifestyle publications where readability and speed matter most.
Pricing: $89 (one-time).
Top Features of Neue
Design & customization
- Upload logo, icon, and publication cover directly in Ghost Admin.
- Typography controls with local/system font options; change heading/body fonts in Design & Branding.
- 10+ color schemes (light, sepia, blue, red, orange, green, indigo, purple, pink, dark) and dark-mode logo.
Layouts & content
- Post templates: Regular, Wide (default), Full, No Image; per-post overrides supported.
Regular and Wide Feature Image Layout
Full width and no image layout
- Related posts configurable (primary tag, latest, or hidden).
- Lightbox for images; responsive images and video/table handling.
Navigation & social
- Primary navigation with single dropdown (label text or “•••” via
@); secondary navigation for footer.
- 30+ supported social links via Secondary navigation (Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky, etc.).
- Built-in Announcement bar (audience targeting for logged out, free, or paid members).
Memberships & growth
- Ghost Portal by default, native comments, recommendations, and Upgrade CTA with access-level logic (Members/Paid/Tiers).
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Great Google PageSpeed Insights scores (100/100/100 reported).
- Minimal, clean, easy to brand quickly.
- Strong Ghost-native feature coverage (memberships, comments, recommendations, portal).
Cons
- Documentation does not detail custom templates for tag and author archives; these appear to use defaults.
- Accessibility can be improved (89% with 18 issues).
- No separate custom templates documented for sign-in/sign-up/membership pages beyond Portal defaults.
Use Cases
- For Bloggers: Simple, elegant reading experience with drop-in branding and fast load times.
- For Magazines/Publishers: Multiple post templates and related-posts logic help shape editorial flow.
- For Membership Creators: Portal, comments, recommendations, and Upgrade CTA make paid content practical without extra tools.
Performance, Accessibility & SEO
I’m satisfied with the speed profile here, and the theme markets itself as lightweight and SEO-friendly.
PageSpeed results are excellent (Accessibility/Best Practices/SEO: 100/100/100).
For accessibility, I recommend tightening contrast and ARIA labeling to raise the reported 89% score and fix the 18 flagged issues, especially if you operate in the U.S., where sub-95 accessibility can pose legal risk for high-traffic sites.
Installation & Customization (Quick Start)
- Install Neue: Settings → Site → Theme → Change theme → Upload
neue.zip→ Activate. - Branding: Upload logo, icon, cover; set fonts and color scheme; add dark logo if you use dark mode.
- Navigation: Build the primary menu, add a dropdown using
###and@(for dots). Set footer columns in Secondary navigation. - Social & Announcement: Add supported social labels in the footer; enable the Announcement bar and target who sees it.
- Layouts: Choose default post template (Regular/Wide/Full/No Image) and adjust related posts.
Rating & Recommendation
My rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
I recommend Yes—if you want a minimal magazine blog with fast setup, Ghost-native memberships, and simple design controls, Neue is a solid value at this price point. I deducted one star mainly for the accessibility clean-up and the lack of documented custom templates for tag/author archives and dedicated auth/membership pages.
FAQs
Does Neue support Ghost comments and recommendations?
Yes—both are native and enabled by design; configure in Ghost Admin.
Can I use a dropdown in the main menu?
Yes. Add an item with URL ###; use @ to show the dots icon (•••).
How many color schemes are included?
10+ pre-built schemes, plus accent color and dark-logo options.
Are there multiple post templates?
Yes—Regular, Wide (default), Full, and No Image, selectable per post.
Where do I change fonts and branding?
In Ghost Admin: Design & Branding → Customize (logo, icon, cover, heading/body fonts).
Neue Alternatives to Consider
- Orchid — Elegant, fashion-friendly layout with multiple hero options and image-forward design; good for lifestyle magazines.
- Sense — Minimal and fast with strong membership/SEO basics; a leaner sibling in the Ekto family.
- Caards — Card-style portfolio/story grid ideal for studios and photographers who publish visual case studies.
- Shiro — A minimalist reader-first layout when you want an ultra-clean blog experience.
Conclusion
If you’re building a clean, modern magazine-style Ghost site and want to launch fast, Neue is an easy recommendation. The built-in Ghost features, simple design controls, and flexible post layouts make day-to-day publishing smooth. Tighten accessibility and you’ll have a future-proof, reader-friendly publication with minimal overhead.
