Ghost’s performance stands out significantly compared to other CMS platforms, especially WordPress. Built on a modern Node.js technology stack, Ghost delivers much faster loading times and more efficient server response. Independent tests have shown Ghost can be up to 1,900% faster than WordPress, meaning it handles requests nearly 19 times quicker, which greatly benefits SEO and user experience.
Ghost’s lightweight, streamlined architecture is optimized out of the box, requiring no additional caching or optimization plugins to achieve high speed. It typically scores 90+ on Google PageSpeed Insights without modifications, thanks to its minimalistic design focused on content publishing. However, this simplicity comes with fewer built-in features and a smaller theme/plugin ecosystem compared to WordPress, making Ghost less versatile for complex or highly customized websites.
While WordPress can be optimized to approach Ghost’s speed through caching plugins and performance tuning, Ghost offers superior baseline performance, especially for content-heavy sites and publishers who want fast, efficient delivery without extensive setup. Ghost’s Node.js foundation also allows better handling of concurrent users and scalability in real-time features.
How does Ghost handle high traffic compared to WordPress
Ghost handles high traffic more efficiently than WordPress due to its lightweight, Node.js-based architecture and built-in caching system. This allows Ghost to serve many concurrent users with minimal performance degradation, making it well-suited for traffic spikes without requiring extensive optimization. Its caching saves static HTML versions of pages, reducing server load and improving response times during high demand.
In contrast, WordPress, built on PHP and often reliant on multiple plugins, can experience slower performance under heavy traffic unless carefully optimized with caching plugins, high-quality hosting, and performance tuning. While WordPress is highly scalable with the right infrastructure, its performance can suffer if plugins or themes are poorly coded or if the site becomes too complex.
Overall, Ghost offers better out-of-the-box performance and more efficient handling of high traffic, especially for content-heavy sites, whereas WordPress requires more effort and expertise to maintain comparable performance under load.
Links:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/wordpress-vs-ghost-which-is-better/
https://forum.ghost.org/t/how-have-you-found-ghost-compared-to-wordpress-for-seo/30030
https://hyvor.com/blog/wordpress-vs-ghost
https://fluentforms.com/ghost-vs-wordpress/
https://www.blogseo.ai/blog/ghost-vs-wordpress-for-blogging