Running Multiple Ghost Sites with Subdomains

Introduction

One of the biggest advantages of self-hosting Ghost is the ability to run multiple websites on the same VPS.

This is especially useful if you:

• build Ghost themes
• manage client websites
• run demo websites
• operate a Ghost marketplace
• test multiple projects

In my own workflow, I run multiple Ghost websites using:

• Docker
• Nginx reverse proxy
• subdomains
• isolated containers
• separate Ghost volumes

This setup gives:

• flexibility
• scalability
• lower hosting costs
• easier deployments

Why Use Subdomains?

Subdomains help organize projects cleanly.

Examples:

blog.yourdomain.com
magazine.yourdomain.com
demo.yourdomain.com
docs.yourdomain.com

For a Ghost marketplace, subdomains are extremely useful for:

• live theme demos
• documentation websites
• staging environments
• client previews

My Real Setup

I personally use a Contabo VPS with:

• multiple Ghost containers
• Docker Compose
• Nginx reverse proxy
• custom domains and subdomains

Each Ghost website usually has:

• its own container
• its own content volume
• its own port
• but sheared database and Nginx configuration

This keeps projects isolated and easier to maintain.

Basic Multi-Site Architecture

Example structure:

ghostheme.com               → Marketplace
blog-elvara.ghostheme.com  → Theme demo
blog-lumora.ghostheme.com  → Theme demo
saas-docs.ghostheme.com    → Theme demo

Each website runs independently inside Docker.

Step 1 — Create a Docker Compose File

Example:

version: "3.8"

services:
  ghost:
    image: ghost:latest
    container_name: ghost_blog_elvara

    restart: always

    ports:
      - "3045:2368"

    environment:
      url: https://blog-elvara.yourdomain.com

      database__client: mysql
      database__connection__host: mysql
      database__connection__user: root
      database__connection__password: strong_password
      database__connection__database: ghost_elvara

      NODE_ENV: production

    volumes:
      - elvara_content:/var/lib/ghost/content

    depends_on:
      - mysql

  mysql:
    image: mysql:8.0

    container_name: ghost_elvara_mysql

    restart: always

    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: strong_password
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ghost_elvara

    volumes:
      - elvara_mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  elvara_content:
  elvara_mysql_data:

Step 2 — Deploy the Website

Run:

docker compose up -d

Then verify:

docker ps

You should see:

• Ghost container
• MySQL container

running successfully.

Step 3 — Configure Nginx

all subdomain needs a global Nginx configuration.

Example:

# My Nginx Setup: One File for All Subdomains

Instead of creating a separate Nginx config file for every Ghost website, I use one Nginx file with a `map` block.

This allows me to route many domains and subdomains to different Docker ports from one place.

Example:

```nginx
map $host $backend_port {
    ghostheme.com                         3057;
    www.ghostheme.com                     3057;

    saas-docs.ghostheme.com               3043;

    blog-inkline.ghostheme.com            3044;
    blog-inkline-midnight.ghostheme.com   3044;
    blog-inkline-pearl.ghostheme.com      3044;

    blog-lumora.ghostheme.com             3046;
    blog-lumora-sage.ghostheme.com        3046;
    blog-lumora-dark.ghostheme.com        3046;

    blog-elvara.ghostheme.com             3045;
    blog-elvara-sage.ghostheme.com        3045;
    blog-elvara-dark.ghostheme.com        3045;

    blog-velora.ghostheme.com             3048;
    blog-velora-dark.ghostheme.com        3048;

    blog-novaryn.ghostheme.com            3049;
    blog-novaryn-midnight.ghostheme.com   3049;

    default                               3057;
}

server {
    server_name ghostheme.com www.ghostheme.com *.ghostheme.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:$backend_port;

        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';

        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;

        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    client_max_body_size 50M;
}

This setup is very practical when running many Ghost websites on the same VPS.

For example:

blog-elvara.ghostheme.com  → port 3045
blog-lumora.ghostheme.com  → port 3046
blog-velora.ghostheme.com  → port 3048
saas-docs.ghostheme.com    → port 3043

Each Ghost site runs in Docker on its own port, and Nginx sends visitors to the correct container depending on the subdomain.

Why I Like This Approach

Using one Nginx file makes the setup easier to maintain because:

• all subdomains are managed in one place
• adding a new demo site only requires adding one line to the map
• I do not need many duplicated server blocks
• SSL configuration is centralized
• it works well with wildcard subdomains

For a Ghost marketplace with many theme demos, this is much cleaner than creating a separate file for every subdomain.

Important Note

After editing the Nginx file, always test the configuration:

sudo nginx -t

If everything is correct, reload Nginx:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 4 — Enable SSL

After configuring Nginx, install SSL certificates.

Example using Certbot:

sudo certbot --nginx

SSL is extremely important for:

• Ghost memberships
• newsletters
• SEO
• browser security

Managing Multiple Ghost Websites

One thing I learned after running multiple Ghost websites is the importance of organization.

I usually create separate folders like:

/opt/ghost-elvara/
/opt/ghost-lumora/
/opt/ghost-inkline/

Each project contains:

• docker-compose file
• backups
• environment configs
• deployment scripts

This keeps everything easier to manage.

Docker Volume Strategy

I also prefer naming volumes explicitly:

volumes:
  elvara_content:
    name: elvara_content

  elvara_mysql_data:
    name: ghost_shared_mysql

This avoids:

• confusing Docker volume names
• accidental deletion
• deployment issues

Very useful for multi-site setups.

Backup Strategy

For backups, I usually archive Ghost content volumes:

docker run --rm \
  -v elvara_content:/source \
  -v /opt:/backup \
  alpine \
  tar czf /backup/elvara_content.tar.gz -C /source .

This makes migrations and recovery much easier.

Common Mistakes

1. Reusing the Same Port

Each Ghost site must use a unique port.

Wrong:

ports:  - "2368:2368"

for every site.

2. Incorrect Ghost URL

Always set the correct domain:

url: https://blog-elvara.yourdomain.com

Otherwise:

• redirects break
• images fail
• admin issues appear

3. Weak Nginx Organization

Use separate config files for each website.

Example:

/etc/nginx/sites-available/

This keeps the infrastructure cleaner.

4. No Monitoring

If you run many Ghost sites, monitor resources using:

docker stats

This helps prevent:

• RAM overload
• CPU spikes
• container crashes

Final Thoughts

Running multiple Ghost websites with subdomains is one of the best ways to scale a Ghost infrastructure.

For:

• marketplaces
• demo websites
• memberships
• publications
• client projects

Docker + Nginx + VPS hosting becomes extremely powerful.

Once properly organized, managing multiple Ghost sites becomes surprisingly simple and scalable.