Why Your Ghost Newsletter Looks Different from Your Website

By Ahmad Ajmi October 4, 2026

You can publish a Ghost post on your website and send it as a newsletter. The writing comes from the same editor, but the two versions have separate designs. Your theme controls the website; Ghost’s newsletter template controls the email.

That is why installing a new theme can change your article pages while leaving your emails looking the same. To change the email’s appearance, use the newsletter settings in Ghost Admin.

Your Theme Controls the Website

The theme determines how visitors see your homepage, article pages, and other website layouts. Its design options are under Settings → Site → Design & branding → Customize.

These design settings apply to the website. This example uses Siwa.

Changing a website font or choosing another article layout does not make the newsletter adopt that design. Choose a theme for the website you want readers to visit, then adjust the email separately. Ghost’s website design guide explains the website controls.

Open Settings → Membership → Newsletters, then edit the newsletter you want to change. If you publish several newsletters, open the one you intend to send.

Two tabs answer different questions: Content controls which elements appear, and Design controls their appearance. Ghost’s newsletter template guide describes the available options.

Content: What Appears in the Email

The Content tab lets you show or hide the publication title, newsletter name, post title, excerpt, and feature image.

For example, a post can have a feature image on the website while the newsletter’s Feature image switch is off. To include that image at the top of the email, enable it here. The website theme does not control this switch.

The same distinction applies to the excerpt: writing one for the post and displaying it in the newsletter are separate choices.

Design: How the Email Looks

The Design tab offers heading and body fonts, colors, and styling for elements such as links and buttons.

You can use these controls to carry a recognizable color or typographic style into the newsletter. They customize Ghost’s email template; they do not copy your theme’s article layout into the inbox.

For a missing title or feature image, return to Content. For a different heading font, background color, or button style, use Design.

Preview the Email Before Sending

Open a draft post and select Preview, then switch to Email. Check the selected newsletter before reviewing its appearance. The Web preview shows the theme’s article page; the Email preview shows the newsletter version.

Check the elements you chose to include: the title, excerpt, feature image, and writing. Then use Test to send a preview to your own inbox, as described in Ghost’s publishing guide.

Open that test email on the devices and in the email apps your readers use. Check that the text is readable, images display, and links work. The final check is the email your reader will receive, rather than whether it looks identical to the website.