Guide · Updated July 2026

Ghost to WordPress: the complete conversion guide

Ghost is a publishing platform popular with independent writers. The moment a project needs to live on WordPress, the usual problem shows up: Handlebars themes do not translate to PHP templates. This guide covers the fastest route from a rendered Ghost page to an installable WordPress theme.

Why people move from Ghost to WordPress

WordPress remains the destination whenever a site needs plugins, editorial workflows, granular SEO control, or hosting you own. Teams working in Ghost usually reach that point once marketing, content and analytics requirements grow beyond what a single builder covers.

The blocker is never the decision — it is the migration. Because handlebars themes do not translate to php templates, the default answer has always been "rebuild it".

The rebuild tax nobody budgets for

A manual port means re-cutting the layout, re-typing the copy, re-uploading media and re-testing every breakpoint. On a modest marketing site that is days of work, and the result rarely matches the original pixel for pixel.

How Themify converts Ghost pages

Themify runs inside Chrome and reads the page after it has fully rendered. That matters for Ghost, because the output depends on the theme's typography scale and content card styling. Everything the browser resolved — markup, stylesheets, fonts, images and scripts — is bundled into a self-contained WordPress theme.

  1. Open the page you want to convert in Chrome.
  2. Click the Themify extension icon in the toolbar.
  3. Press Generate theme and wait for the capture to finish.
  4. In wp-admin, go to Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme.
  5. Upload the .zip, activate it, and the page is live on WordPress.

What carries over

The conversion is a faithful snapshot of the rendered page:

  • Full layout and section structure
  • All CSS, including custom properties and media queries
  • Images, SVG icons, favicons and inline assets
  • Web fonts, self-hosted or third-party
  • Animations, hover states and scroll effects
  • Responsive breakpoints exactly as rendered

Who this workflow suits

It is built for writers consolidating onto one CMS: you already have something you like at your Ghost domain or a *.ghost.io URL, and you want it on WordPress today rather than after a redesign cycle.

Frequently asked questions

Can I convert Ghost to WordPress without coding?
Yes. Themify captures the rendered Ghost page in Chrome and outputs a standard WordPress theme .zip. You never touch PHP.
Does the Ghost design stay intact?
The capture happens after the browser paints the page, so the theme's typography scale and content card styling is preserved rather than approximated.
Is the conversion allowed?
Only convert pages you own or have explicit permission to copy. Themify is a tool for your own work and authorised client work.

Try it in minutes

Themify is the fastest way to turn any live webpage into an installable WordPress theme (.zip). No coding, no rebuilding, no design handoff.