Is your Ghost blog ready for a calm, focused reading experience? Sand keeps things spare, speedy, and simple so your words take center stage. If you run a personal blog, travel journal, or lifestyle site, Sand hits a sweet spot: modern UI without distracting frills, easy setup, and first-party membership features powered by Ghost. Priced at a one-time $79 with lifetime updates and 12 months of support, it’s a low-risk way to get a clean blog online fast.
TL;DR — Key takeaways
- Minimal, content-first Ghost theme with six color schemes and automatic dark mode.
- Works with Ghost memberships, Portal, recommendations, and native comments out of the box.
- Easy to customize in Ghost Admin: typography, color scheme, hero, latest posts, footer CTA, and more.
- One-time $79 license, lifetime updates, 12 months support, Ghost 6.0+ compatible.
What makes Sand unique?
A minimal, writer-first Ghost theme that sticks to native features (Portal, recommendations, comments) and exposes clean, no-code theme settings for color, type, hero, and CTAs—so you launch fast and stay fast.
Theme overview
Sand is a lightweight Ghost theme built with Tailwind CSS designed for bloggers who value readability and low maintenance. It supports Ghost 6.0+ and bundles modern publishing essentials: memberships, related posts, author/tag templates, responsive images (WebP/AVIF), and multilingual files (EN, ES, FR, PT, DE, IT, AR).
Who it’s for: personal blogs, travel and lifestyle journals, and anyone who wants a calm, uncluttered layout that emphasizes the reading flow.
Device and platform compatibility: responsive across screens; Ghost CMS 6.0+.
Top features of the Sand Ghost theme
Design & customization
- Six color schemes (Sand/Light/Blue/Green/Purple/Dark) + accent color (in select schemes).
- Typography modes: Theme fonts, Ghost fonts, or System fonts for max performance.
- Dark mode toggle with automatic system detection; optional dark logo.
- Customizable hero (image, title, subtitle, description, optional subscribe form).
- Homepage “Latest Posts” title control.
- Footer CTA (title, text, link, description) and custom copyright.
- Publication icon, logo, and cover controls (cover doubles as hero).
Reading experience
- Related posts section and post metadata controls.
- Optional drop caps; image zoom/lightbox on posts.
Membership & growth
- Native Ghost Portal flows; upgrade CTA inside protected posts; recommendations via navigation link.
- Native comments with access-aware visibility.
Under the hood
- Built with Tailwind; uses GScan test script; dev tooling with Gulp and BrowserSync.
- Posts-per-page configurable via
package.json. - Translation files with built-in locales (EN, ES, FR, PT, DE, IT, AR) + RTL support for AR.
Licensing & updates
$79 one-time, lifetime updates, 12 months support; theme v1.0.0; Ghost 6.0+ compatibility.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Minimal look and clean layout that keeps focus on reading.
- Great for personal, travel, lifestyle, or recipe blogging; flexible enough for multipurpose blogs.
- Straightforward, native Ghost setup; no third-party dependencies for memberships or comments.
Cons
- Limited standout features compared to heavier, magazine-style themes; the appeal is simplicity, not bells and whistles.
- Several free Ghost themes offer similar layouts, so the value depends on whether you want Sand’s specific style and polish.
Use cases
For bloggers: I want a clean writing canvas, basic post embellishments (drop caps, lightbox), and related posts to keep readers moving. Sand checks these boxes with almost zero learning curve.
For newsletter creators: I need native signup/upgrade prompts and recommendations without custom code. Sand leans on Ghost Portal and upgrade CTAs, so I can grow memberships without fiddling.
For lifestyle/travel writers: I need a strong hero, simple latest-posts feed, and a footer CTA to invite signups—again, all built in.
Performance, accessibility & SEO
Speed & SEO: Sand advertises a lightweight structure, Tailwind build, and responsive images (WebP/AVIF). My checks align with reported PageSpeed Insights results (Accessibility 96, Best Practices 100, SEO 100). The theme also sets a clean meta structure and related-posts patterns typical of modern Ghost themes.
Accessibility: Despite the developer’s “accessibility best practices” claim, your independent audit shows 77% ADA/WCAG with 31 issues (not compliant). In the U.S., sites below ~95 accessibility score can face higher legal risk—so if accessibility is critical, plan fixes or consider stricter-compliant themes.
Installation & customization
- Upload the ZIP in Ghost Admin → Settings → Design → Change theme → Upload → Activate.
- (Optional) Upload
routes.yamlfor custom routes if provided. - Tweak design in Design & branding → Customize: color scheme, typography, hero, latest posts, footer CTA, icon/logo/cover.
- Membership: configure Portal appearance and hide the floating Portal button if you prefer theme CTAs.
Rating & recommendation
My rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Why a neutral three? Sand looks great and reads even better, but it intentionally keeps the feature set lean. With many free or similarly minimal Ghost themes around, the value comes down to whether you want this specific style plus the polish of built-in options like color schemes, hero, and footer CTA. I call it Neutral: if you love the demo’s look and want a minimal, low-maintenance theme, go for it; if you need standout components (mega menus, cards carousels, complex home layouts), you’ll likely outgrow it.
FAQs
Does Sand support Ghost memberships and Portal?
Yes. It uses Ghost’s native Portal for sign-up, login, and account management.
Can I customize fonts and colors without code?
Yes—switch between theme, Ghost, or system fonts, and choose from multiple color schemes inside the customizer.
Is there dark mode?
Yes. There’s a dark-mode toggle plus automatic system detection; you can upload a separate dark logo.
How do I add a footer signup CTA?
Use the Footer CTA fields (title, text, link, description). Defaults to Portal signup if no custom link is set.
Can I change posts per page?
Yes—edit config.posts_per_page in package.json, re-zip, upload.
Which languages are included?
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Arabic (with RTL handling for AR).
Sand alternatives (similar Ghost themes)
- Tuuli — A polished personal-blog theme by Bright Themes with customizable hero, multiple post layouts, and strong typography; great for writers and newsletters.
When to choose: you want more layout options and premium typography controls. - Glow — Minimalist theme by Eduardo Gómez with a large font library, customizable hero, and light/dark/system modes; built for readability.
When to choose: you want more font variety and a refined hero. - Macaw — Newsletter-leaning design by Iris Themes: featured posts slider/grid, global table of contents, progress bar with actions, and paired font combos.
When to choose: you publish long-form issues and want built-in engagement hooks. - Zento — Modern blog theme by Estudio Patagon with speed focus, native search, Disqus/native comments, syntax highlighting, and Koenig block coverage.
When to choose: you need tech/tutorial features like code highlighting.
Conclusion
If you need a minimal, writer-first Ghost theme that’s quick to set up and easier to keep fast, Sand is a solid match. I wouldn’t pick it for complex magazines, but for a personal blog or travel journal, it delivers a clean look, native memberships, and enough polish to feel premium. Try the demo and scan the docs—if the aesthetic clicks, the build will take you far.
I’m neutral on Sand. I like the quiet, purposeful design and how tightly it follows Ghost conventions. If you want a minimal blog with native memberships and a set-and-forget customizer, Sand is an easy recommendation. If you need more dramatic layouts or niche modules, look to the alternatives.
