Self-hosting Ghost on DigitalOcean
When I first made the switch to Ghost from WordPress I opted for the Ghost(Pro) version. With the Pro version, your site is hosted with Ghost and they keep it updated and secure for you.
As an early adopter of Ghost I was paying considerably less than their current Pro fees (which I believe are expensive!). But after about 18 months of Ghost(Pro) and even with the cheaper price, I figured I could self-host the site and use it as a kick up the butt to develop my own Ghost theme too - something I'll be posting about soon!
One of the things I love about Ghost is its simplicity. Writing posts in a clutter-free editor with markdown is great, so I was delighted to learn that self-hosting Ghost is just as simple.
Having had good experiences using DigitalOcean for my WordPress sites in the past, I was happy to see that they offer a one-click app install for Ghost too. Their installation guide is straightforward and easy to use, meaning you can be up and running with Ghost (including SSL setup) in about 10-15 minutes. Then you just need to wait for your domain to point to your new droplet.
How To Set Up the DigitalOcean Ghost One-Click Application for Ubuntu 16.04
If you're not looking to use a DigitalOcean one-click app install for Ghost, you can find instructions for installing Ghost on your own server here.