Ghost blogging platform offers simplicity, but email configuration presents challenges. This guide demonstrates deploying Ghost via docker-compose with Caddy as a reverse proxy.

Core Setup

The Ghost documentation provides foundational installation steps. Caddy can handle wildcard domain certificates through Let’s Encrypt for HTTPS security.

Email Configuration Options

Transactional Emails (signup/subscriptions):

  • Mailtrap free tier maintains your domain reputation
  • Gmail alternative available if you accept third-party domain indicators

Newsletters (bulk messages):

  • Mailgun offers a free tier suitable for low-volume blogs
  • Configuration requires editing config.production.json with SMTP credentials

Gmail SMTP Configuration

Generate a dedicated app password via Google Account security settings, then configure Ghost with these credentials in the mail section of your production configuration file.

Key Takeaway

All your transactional emails should work fine without any additional pain once properly configured through either third-party services or Gmail authentication with app-specific passwords.