Responsive images
Photographs are served through Ghost's own image sizes with WebP sources, so a phone downloads a phone-sized file. The lead image loads first and everything below the fold loads lazily.
Newsroom & opinion theme
Columnist
A broadsheet front page for Ghost, built for opinion-led magazines, independent newsrooms and newsletters — a clear pecking order, sections you build without code and six story formats that give every piece its own voice.
US$149Single site · One-time · Tax may apply
Need more than one site? Choose the five-site agency licence — US$349. Or get Ghost All Access — every Ghost theme, now and in the future, for US$549.
14-day money-back guaranteeLifetime product updatesSupport from the builder
Version 1.5.4 · released 4 October 2026 · see the changelog
Needs a Ghost plan that allows custom themes — Ghost(Pro) Starter does not. Publisher or self-hosted is the right fit. More on plans · Compare all eleven themes
The theme, in full
A newspaper's pages, set for the screen.
Every screen below is the real rendered theme on the live demo — no mockups. The demo's stories and photographs are fictional and illustrative. Select any one to view it full size.
The light and dark front pages above are the same theme: one setting chooses Auto, Light or Dark, and readers can override it from the masthead.
Ghost 6Current major version
GScan verifiedChecked before release
No frameworksNo jQuery or runtime libraries
System fontsNo font files to download
Performance-minded by default
Dense on stories, light on everything else.
Columnist keeps the front end deliberately small: one hand-written stylesheet, one short vanilla JavaScript file, no font downloads and no framework between your reporting and your readers.
No font downloads
Headlines and body text use system serif and sans-serif stacks, so there are no font requests and nothing extra to list in a privacy policy. Pick your own fonts in Ghost's Brand settings if you prefer.
Ghost-native features
Memberships, newsletters, search and comments work through Ghost itself rather than extra plugin layers, and every editor card is styled to match the theme in light and dark.
Built for the byline
A publication that reads like one, from the front page to the last paragraph.
Columnist is designed around what an opinion-led title or independent newsroom actually publishes: a cover story, a desk of supporting reports, and writers readers come back to by name.
A front page with a pecking order
Mark up to five stories as Featured and the first becomes the cover story, with the rest beside it. A numbered latest strip, a grid of dispatches, an Opinion section and a topic index follow, and the page works on day one with no setup.
Sections without code
Create a Ghost page, give it a tag's slug and add an internal tag: it becomes a homepage section. Up to twelve sections, in six layouts — grid, lead, numbered briefing, opinion, timeline and a columnists block.
Six story formats
Opinion, Interview, Review, Photo Essay, Video and Live are post templates you choose in the editor. Each has its own treatment, and a matching label on homepage and archive cards.
Columns and columnists
A column is a page with its own artwork and every story tagged to it. A directory lists your writers by story count, and author pages open with a cover-led profile.
Newsroom workflows
Tag an urgent story #breaking and the five newest run in a pausable, dismissible newswire above the masthead. Live stories show when they were last updated, and navigation supports dropdown sections.
Paper, masthead and dark mode
Four coordinated paper palettes — Newsprint, Mist, Stone and Press — a Classic or Compact masthead, and an automatic, forced or reader-selected dark mode with an optional alternate logo.
Reader tools
Three text sizes, a reading-progress bar, browser-local saved stories, a print stylesheet that strips the interface and native sharing with a copy-link fallback. Nothing is sent to your server.
Membership
Signup and upgrade prompts that follow the reader's status, plus a membership page that lists your public Ghost tiers with monthly and yearly pricing and benefits.
Sponsor placements
Publish a Ghost page with a set slug and it appears as a sponsor placement on the homepage, after stories or above the footer. Unpublish it and the placement disappears.
Fit check
Is Columnist right for your publication?
- Opinion-led magazines and columnist-driven publications
- Independent newsrooms and local news sites
- Newsletters and expert publications with a regular cast of writers
- Membership-led editorial businesses
Not the right fit: Ghost(Pro) Starter sites, photography-led interiors or travel titles — Hamptons is built for those — a loud culture magazine with a podcast, which is Manifesto, or publications that sell many display advertising slots, where Society fits better. Columnist offers three sponsor placements.
Technical details
| Ghost | Designed and tested for Ghost 6.x |
|---|---|
| Hosting | Ghost(Pro) Publisher or higher, or self-hosted Ghost |
| Licence | Single site: one live Ghost site (US$149). Agency: up to five live sites using this theme (US$349). Staging and local copies included for each licensed site. |
| Updates | Included for the lifetime of the product |
| Support | Email support from the builder; target response within two business days |
| Dependencies | No jQuery, page builder or frontend framework |
| Fonts | System serif and sans-serif stacks, or your own from Ghost's font settings |
| JavaScript | Stories and navigation work without it; search, Portal, reader tools and the newswire need it |
Ghost(Pro) Starter does not support custom themes. Read the compatibility FAQ.
Explore the working demo
Walk through it yourself.
These links open the real Ghost demo, populated with a fictional edition: thirty stories, six writers and six homepage sections.
What you receive
A theme licence, not a mystery ZIP.
- Production-ready Columnist theme download
- Perpetual usage licence for one or five live sites, according to the option purchased
- Setup, homepage builder, story format and reader tool guides
- A generator for the fictional demo edition, if you want to explore the layouts on your own site
- All future Columnist compatibility updates
After purchase
Gumroad sends the theme straight away.
After checkout, Gumroad emails your download link. You receive the production theme ZIP, setup documentation, lifetime product updates and support from the person who built it. If Columnist is not a fit, the 14-day refund policy applies.
Buyer questions
A few things worth knowing before you choose Columnist.
Quick answers to the questions that usually decide whether a Ghost theme is the right fit.
Will Columnist work on my Ghost plan?
Columnist is designed and tested for Ghost 6.x and requires a Ghost plan that supports custom themes. Ghost(Pro) Starter does not support custom themes; Ghost(Pro) Publisher or a self-hosted Ghost install is the right fit.
Can I customise it without coding?
Yes. Twenty documented theme settings cover the masthead, paper palette, light or dark scheme, the breaking-news crawl, the homepage layout and strapline, the opinion section, post layout, drop caps, author boxes, related stories, reader tools and the newsletter wording. Homepage sections are built from ordinary Ghost pages and tags, so an editor can change them without touching code.
Do I have to set up sections and story formats?
No. The default front page works the moment you activate the theme and builds itself from your featured and latest stories. Custom sections and the six story formats are optional: add them when you want a curated edition, as described in the settings guide.
What support do I get?
You get email support from the person who built the theme for installation questions and documented theme settings, with a target response within two business days.
What if I buy it and it is not right?
Your purchase is covered by the 14-day refund policy. If Columnist is not a fit for your publication, read the refund terms or email before the refund window closes.
Columnist · US$149
Give your writers the front page they deserve.
One-time purchase, lifetime product updates and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Free Ghost launch checklist
Still planning your Ghost site?
Work through the free Ghost Publication Launch Checklist before you publish. You can also get three short emails about choosing a theme and launching your site, followed by occasional theme news.