Tripoli vs Taba: Choosing a Ghost Theme for a Magazine

By Ahmad Ajmi October 4, 2026

Tripoli and Taba both give a Ghost magazine room for featured stories, recurring topics, and several writers. The choice is how you want readers to move through that coverage: from the front page, into a subject or writer’s archive, and finally into an article.

I make both themes at Aspire Themes. This comparison focuses on multi-topic magazines and news publications, where editors select lead stories and readers follow different beats. For an image-led journal with a different front-page structure, also consider Hanoi.

Tripoli brings selected stories and recent coverage together in its opening layout. Taba gives the lead story more space, then separates the coverage below into additional sections and columns. It also offers more ways to present individual stories. The following examples show when those differences are useful.

Compare the Editorial Priorities

Before looking at the differences, establish what both themes provide. Both support Ghost’s editor cards, individual topic and author pages, posts with several authors, memberships, and restricted content. Choosing Tripoli does not mean giving up video inside an article or the ability to publish paid stories. Taba’s additional layouts and tools change how those stories are presented.

Publishing Need	Tripoli	Taba
Homepage Opening	Featured stories and a latest-post column visible together.	A large featured-story opening, followed by latest stories.
Recurring Coverage	Topic sections and an Editors' Picks section.	Separate topic sections and topic columns, an Editors' Pick, and a video section.
Browsing Topics and Writers	Individual topic and author pages, plus tag and author directories.	Individual topic and author pages, plus a header Topics menu.
Story Openings	A consistent article opening with the headline and byline above the feature image.	A standard article opening plus custom gallery, image, and video layouts.
Reading Tools	A table of contents for long articles, reading time, and sharing links.	Text-size controls, voice playback, reading progress, and sharing controls.

Scroll sideways to see all columns.

Decide What Leads the Homepage

Consider your recent articles. Which one would lead the page, and which subjects deserve space below it? Publishing frequency alone does not decide the theme: a weekly magazine may have a deep archive, while a daily publication may concentrate on one beat. Compare how each layout presents your coverage.

Tripoli: Selected Stories Alongside Recent Coverage

Tripoli magazine homepage with a lead story and surrounding article cards — Tripoli combines lead stories, a latest-post column, and topic sections.

Tripoli keeps selected stories and recent coverage visible together. An editor can leave a lead article prominent while readers catch up on newer posts beside it.

Below that opening, topic sections organize recurring coverage, while Editors’ Picks highlight work worth returning to.

The editorial choices are which stories to feature, which topics to show, and what to select as a pick. See the Tripoli homepage guide for configuration.

Taba: A Larger Lead and Separate Coverage Areas

Taba homepage with a featured story and latest articles underneath — Taba gives the featured story a large visual opening.

Taba gives the lead story a larger opening. Latest stories follow, then topic sections, an Editors’ Pick, video coverage, and topic columns.

Sections and columns can cover different subjects—for example, politics and culture in sections, business and sports in columns. Regular video coverage also has its own section.

Topic lists are configurable, and the video section appears when there are tagged video stories. Choose these areas because they serve your coverage; the demo does not require you to fill them all. See the Taba guide for setup.

All screenshots in this comparison use prepared demo content. They show selected layouts and settings; installing a theme does not copy those stories or contributors into your publication.

Help Readers Browse Topics and Writers

After the lead stories, readers need a way to continue into the archive. Both themes provide individual topic and author pages. The useful comparison is how readers reach those pages and what they find there.

Tripoli’s Topic and Author Directories

Tripoli’s tag directory shows the available subjects together. A reader can choose a beat before opening its stories, rather than relying on the topics linked in the main navigation.

Tripoli tag directory with a grid of topics including Politics, Sport, and Technology — Tripoli’s tag directory lets readers choose a topic before opening its stories.

Its author directory helps readers discover contributors or find a familiar columnist. Both themes support several authors on a post; the directory adds a separate way to browse them.

Tripoli author directory with contributor profiles and links to their work — Tripoli’s author directory introduces the publication’s contributors.

Taba’s header Topics menu can show all topics or a selected set. This gives readers access to subjects from the header while the main navigation can carry other destinations. Its Politics topic page illustrates the next step: a subject description and a prominent story before the rest of that coverage.

Taba Politics topic page with its description and featured story — Taba’s Politics page opens with a story from that topic.

An author page offers a different route through the same publication. The writer’s profile sits above their articles, bringing work from different subjects together under one name.

Taba’s author page brings a writer’s profile and articles together.

Follow one topic and one contributor in both demos. Give more weight to the route your readers use: a beat they follow or a writer they return for. A solo publication may have little use for an author directory.

Test Your Story Formats

The archive gets a reader to a story; the article layout needs to make that story worth staying with. Start by comparing written articles in both themes before considering Taba’s additional media layouts.

Compare Written Articles First

Tripoli places the title, excerpt, and byline above the feature image. Its article opening provides a consistent order for reported stories, interviews, and essays.

Tripoli article opening with headline, excerpt, byline, and feature image — Tripoli places the headline and article details above the feature image.

Taba’s standard written article also puts the headline and author details before the image. Compare it with Tripoli’s opening before considering the custom layouts below.

Taba written article opening with headline, excerpt, author profiles, and feature image — Taba’s standard written article places the headline and author details before the feature image.

Read beyond the opening on a phone and a larger screen. Compare reading width, spacing, headings, and captions. If your stories rarely use photographs, inspect an image-free article too.

Consider Video and Other Visual Openings

Both themes can display media through Ghost’s editor cards. Taba adds custom story templates that change the opening itself, including gallery layouts and different image and video treatments. Its layout examples show those choices.

Taba Image Cover article layout with headline, excerpt, and authors over the feature photograph — Taba’s Image Cover layout places the story introduction over its feature photograph.

Use an image-led opening when the photograph is part of the story’s appeal. For a video-led story, the next example gives the player that role.

Taba video article with a large player beside the headline, excerpt, and authors — This Taba video layout places the player beside the story’s title and excerpt.

Here, video leads the story beside its title and excerpt. This opening suits an interview or filmed report where watching is the main reason to open the article.

For occasional video within written reporting, editor cards may be enough. For a recurring series, compare Taba’s dedicated openings and video archive.

Check the Reading and Membership Experience

Tripoli includes a table of contents for long articles. Taba adds text resizing, listening, and reading progress. Try those controls with your audience in mind; voice playback depends on the browser and voice setup.

Taba article body with Listen, text-size, comments, and sharing controls above the text — Taba’s reading toolbar includes Listen, text-size, comments, and sharing controls.

For a paid publication, open a restricted story while signed out in both demos. Both themes support Ghost memberships; compare the presentation of the signup or upgrade prompt and any public preview. Access levels and paid offers are configured in Ghost, as explained in Ghost’s protected-content guide, rather than determined by choosing one of these themes.

Which Theme Fits Your Publication?

Tripoli is the stronger fit when your magazine needs selected stories beside recent coverage, recurring topic sections, and directories for subjects and contributors. A publication built mainly around written reporting can use that structure consistently without choosing a different opening for every story.

Taba is the stronger fit when separate topic sections and columns reflect your coverage, or when video, galleries, and varied story openings are regular editorial choices. Its additional reader tools are another reason to compare it for a publication with substantial long-form work. You can still use its standard article layout; selecting a custom treatment is an option, not a task for every post.