Overview
Is your Ghost blog ready for 2025’s attention economy? If you’re a blogger or magazine publisher who values clarity over clutter, Woords hits that mark while keeping Ghost’s best features intact. I’m recommending it—with a caveat on accessibility you should plan to fix early.
TL;DR (Key takeaways)
- Clean grid layout with featured posts, editor’s picks, and a tag-based carousel.
- Ready for Ghost 6.x with native search, comments, memberships, and translations.
- Custom Sign in/Sign up/Membership/Account pages using dedicated slugs.
- Quick install + required routes.yaml upload for full functionality.
- Accessibility is weak out of the box (WCAG 47%, 56 issues); plan fixes.
What makes Woords unique?
Woords combines a no-nonsense grid magazine layout with Ghost-native membership flows (custom auth pages, subscribe card, previews for paid posts) so you can publish and monetize without third-party hacks.
Theme overview
If you write essays, run a tech blog, or publish a lightweight magazine, Woords puts typography and structure first. The homepage sections are opinionated but practical: editor’s picks, featured posts, a configurable carousel for a chosen tag (e.g., “podcast”), and a recent-posts feed. You also get dedicated pages for authors and tags, plus native Ghost search and comments to keep the experience integrated.
Compatibility: documented as “Ready for Ghost 6.x and newer.” It supports light/dark mode, responsive layouts, and valid HTML5/CSS3.
Dark and Light Modes
Top Features of Woords
- Rich homepage sections: editor’s picks (via
#editor), featured posts (latest 5), configurable tag carousel (set your tag slug/title in Theme settings), and recent posts.
- Custom auth & membership: dedicated Sign up, Sign in, Subscribe, Membership, and Account pages using specific slugs; includes subscribe card, premium posts, public previews, cancel/continue subscription buttons, and billing info update option.
- Ghost-native integrations: members/subscriptions, search, comments, multiple authors, author profiles, markdown/bookmark/gallery/image cards, secondary navigation.
- Customization: accent color via Brand settings; typography via theme fonts or Ghost brand typography; social links (Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) through settings.
- Localization: JSON-based translations under
locales/; add new languages by duplicatingen.json, then upload the updated zip. - Performance-minded: minimal, typography-first design with responsive layout; validated HTML/CSS and speed-oriented structure.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Clean grid layout that scales from personal blogs to magazines.
- Carousel section by tag for highlight content (e.g., podcasts).
- Full membership flow with custom auth pages (no external plugins).
- Authors & tags pages baked in; native search & comments.
Cons
- Accessibility is a weak point (47% WCAG, 56 issues reported by the user); you’ll want to budget time to improve color contrast, focus states, aria labels, and semantics.
- If you skip the routes.yaml upload, parts of the theme won’t work as intended.
Use cases
- For bloggers: ship fast with editor’s picks on top, then feature your latest stories. The subscribe card and previews for paid posts help you build a reader pipeline.
- For magazine-style publishers: curate a tag-driven carousel (e.g., audio, tutorials, or “deep dives”) and lean on featured posts to keep hero content fresh.
- For technical writers: native syntax is handled by Ghost blocks; multi-author support and author pages keep bylines credible.
Performance, security & SEO benefits
From my tests and the developer’s positioning, Woords aims for a speedy, minimal UI with valid HTML5/CSS3 and responsive design—good foundations for Core Web Vitals. Documented features (like Ghost-native search/comments and server-side templates) help avoid heavy client-side scripts.
PageSpeed: Accessibility 82, Best Practices 100, SEO 92. Accessibility still needs attention; in the U.S., sites under ~95 on automated WCAG checks may be at higher legal risk, so I recommend prioritizing contrast, keyboard focus, and semantic labeling in your first post-launch sprint.
Accessibility: 47% score with 56 issues. Start with color contrast tokens, link focus/hover states, ARIA for interactive components, image alt text, and heading order.
Installation & customization guide
- Install the theme: Download
woords.zip→ Ghost Admin → Settings → Theme → Upload theme → Activate. - Upload routes: Ghost Admin → Settings → Labs → Upload
routes.yaml(from theme root). Critical for custom collections/navigation. - Create membership pages with these slugs:
membership,signup,signin,subscribe,account. Add titles/excerpts to each page. - Homepage setup: add logo(s), set primary/secondary navigation, social links, editor’s picks via
#editor, featured posts, and the carousel tag/title in Theme settings. - Branding: set Accent color in Brand; choose typography via Theme (Google Fonts), Ghost Brand typography, or system fonts.
- Translations: edit JSON files under
locales/, zip the theme, re-upload, then set publication language in General settings.
Rating & recommendation
My rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
I recommend Woords if you’re building a clean grid magazine blog with native membership. The feature coverage is solid (custom auth pages, featured/editor’s picks, tag carousel, native search/comments, Ghost 6.x ready). Just plan for an accessibility hardening pass, since automated checks flagged 56 issues at 47%. That trade-off is acceptable to me given the clean UX and straightforward setup.
Do I recommend this theme? Yes—especially for blogs and magazines that want a grid layout with Ghost-native monetization. Keep the poor accessibility scores in mind and budget a fix.
FAQs
How do I enable the carousel section?
Set a tag slug (e.g., podcast) and its section title in Theme settings → Tag section.
How do I show editor’s picks at the top?
Add the internal tag #editor to up to four posts; Woords renders them in the top section.
Do I need routes.yaml?
Yes. Uploading routes.yaml via Labs is required for custom collections and dynamic pages.
Is Woords compatible with Ghost 6.x?
Yes—documented as “Ready for Ghost 6.x and newer.”
How do I localize the theme?
Edit or add JSON files under locales/, re-zip the theme, upload, then set your publication language.
Woords alternatives to consider
- Flora — a vibrant, fast theme suited for creators who want lively visuals with performance focus. Great if you prefer a brighter aesthetic.
- Array — colorful layouts and category highlights; solid option when you need dynamic tag feeds and flexible homepage blocks.
- Bento — playful “bento grid” look, customizable and fast; ideal if you want a distinctive card-grid personality.
- Wavy — speed-optimized with stylish animations and a built-in syntax highlighter, handy for dev/tutorial blogs.
Conclusion
Woords gives you the essentials that you want for a modern Ghost publication: a clean grid, curated hero sections, and membership built in. Setup is quick, features are pragmatic, and the writing experience stays front-and-center. Patch accessibility early, and you’ll have a solid, scalable base for blogs and magazines.
