Ghost Members Setup (Subscriptions/Paywall)

Setting up Ghost Members (Subscriptions/Paywall)

Ghost Members — built-in subscriber system without external plugins. Integrates with Stripe for paid tiers. Supports free subscribers (email list), paid tiers with monthly/yearly billing, and paywall content.

Activation and Basic Setup

In Ghost Admin: Settings → Memberships:

• Enable Members: yes
• Default post access: Members only / Paid-members only / Free
• Portal: configure signup button and forms

Connecting Stripe

Admin → Settings → Memberships → Connect with Stripe

Requires Stripe account (Standard or Connect). Ghost creates Products and Prices in Stripe automatically. Webhooks configured by Ghost CLI automatically.

Access Levels (Tiers)

Admin → Settings → Memberships → Tiers

Each Tier has:

• Monthly/yearly prices in Stripe
• Benefits list (displayed on subscription page)
• Description

Paywall in Content

In Koenig editor insert Members divider:

[Open part of article]
⚡ Members Only [insert "Members Only" card]
[Premium content — available only to subscribers]

In Handlebars theme:

{{! post.hbs}}
{{#post}}
  {{#if access}}
    {{! User has access — show content}}
    <div class="gh-content">{{content}}</div>
  {{else}}
    {{! No access — paywall}}
    <div class="gh-content">{{content}}</div>
    {{! Ghost automatically cuts content at marker}}

    <div class="paywall" data-members-only>
      {{#if @member}}
        {{! Authorized, but no needed tier}}
        <h3>This article is for paid subscribers</h3>
        <a href="#/portal/upgrade" data-portal="upgrade">Upgrade subscription</a>
      {{else}}
        {{! Not authorized}}
        <h3>Read without limits</h3>
        <a href="#/portal/signup" data-portal="signup/free">Subscribe for free</a>
        <a href="#/portal/signup" data-portal="signup">Become paid subscriber</a>
      {{/if}}
    </div>
  {{/if}}
{{/post}}

Ghost Portal

Portal — built-in authentication widget (iframe), embedded in theme:

{{! In footer.hbs or before </body>}}
{{#if @labs.members}}
  <script defer src="{{asset "js/portal.min.js"}}"></script>
{{/if}}

Control Portal opening via data-attributes:

<a href="#/portal" data-portal>Sign in</a>
<a href="#/portal/signup" data-portal="signup">Register</a>
<a href="#/portal/account" data-portal="account">My account</a>

Custom Signup Flow

{{! Form with specific Tier and period}}
<a href="#/portal/signup?plan=monthly" data-portal="signup/monthly">
  Subscribe for {{price currency="USD" numberFormat="short"}}/month
</a>

Checking Subscriber Status

{{! Personalized content}}
{{#if @member}}
  <p>Hi, {{@member.name}}!</p>
  {{#if @member.paid}}
    <span class="badge">Premium</span>
    {{! Show subscription data}}
    {{#foreach @member.subscriptions}}
      Subscription active until {{date current_period_end format="DD.MM.YYYY"}}
    {{/foreach}}
  {{/if}}
{{/if}}

Webhook for External Systems

Ghost Admin → Settings → Integrations → Custom Integrations → Add webhook:

Events: member.added, member.updated, member.deleted, member.payment.succeeded.

// Webhook handler (Node.js)
app.post('/ghost/webhook', express.json(), async (req, res) => {
  const event = req.body;

  if (event.member?.current?.subscribed && !event.member.previous?.subscribed) {
    // New subscriber — add to CRM
    await addToCrm(event.member.current);
  }

  if (event.member?.current?.status === 'paid') {
    // New paid subscriber — grant Discord access
    await grantDiscordAccess(event.member.current.email);
  }

  res.sendStatus(200);
});

Members setup with one paid tier and basic paywall — 1–2 days. Multiple tiers, custom Portal UI, webhook integrations — 3–5 days.