CalWizz Blog/CMS Platform Analysis

Date: 2026-02-03
Goal: Host marketing blog posts at calwizz.com/blog
Constraints: Cheap/free, simple, good SEO, existing Bluehost WordPress (paid through Jan 2028), domains on Namecheap

TL;DR Ranking

Rank	Platform	Cost	Best For
🥇	Existing Bluehost WordPress	$0 (already paid)	Easiest win — just use it
🥈	Hugo on Cloudflare Pages	$0	If you want blazing speed + zero hosting cost
🥉	Ghost (self-hosted)	~$6/mo	If you want a premium writing/newsletter experience

#1 — Existing Bluehost WordPress (RECOMMENDED)

Cost: $0 additional (Choice Plus already paid through Jan 2028)

Adam already pays for Bluehost WordPress Choice Plus. This is the obvious move.

How it works

Install WordPress via Bluehost cPanel (one-click install)
Set it up as a subdirectory install at calwizz.com/blog
If calwizz.com is currently a non-WordPress site (e.g. a landing page or app), WordPress can coexist in the /blog subdirectory without affecting the root
Point calwizz.com DNS from Namecheap to Bluehost (if not already)

Pros

✅ $0 extra cost — already paying for it through Jan 2028
✅ Native subdirectory support — calwizz.com/blog works out of the box
✅ Best SEO ecosystem in existence — Yoast SEO or RankMath (free), structured data, XML sitemaps, meta tags, all automatic
✅ Thousands of free themes — many specifically designed for marketing/corporate blogs
✅ Massive plugin ecosystem — social sharing, analytics, caching, image optimization
✅ Familiar interface — most marketers and writers know WordPress
✅ One-click install from Bluehost cPanel
✅ Free SSL included with Bluehost
✅ Built-in caching via Bluehost + free plugins (WP Super Cache, LiteSpeed)
✅ Email marketing integrations — Mailchimp, ConvertKit, etc.

Cons

⚠️ Plugin/theme updates need occasional attention (can enable auto-updates)
⚠️ Shared hosting = not the fastest (but fine for a blog)
⚠️ WordPress is a target for attacks (mitigated by keeping updated + security plugin)
⚠️ Can feel heavyweight for “just a blog” but that’s okay

Setup effort: ~1-2 hours

Log into Bluehost cPanel
One-click install WordPress to /blog subdirectory
Install a clean theme (e.g. Astra, GeneratePress, or browse WP theme directory for “Blog”)
Install Yoast SEO or RankMath
Configure basic settings (permalinks, site title, etc.)
Start writing

SEO score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

WordPress literally powers 43% of the web. Google indexes it perfectly. With Yoast/RankMath you get: meta titles, descriptions, Open Graph tags, XML sitemaps, schema markup, breadcrumbs, canonical URLs, and content analysis — all free.

#2 — Hugo on Cloudflare Pages

Cost: $0 (free hosting, free SSL, free CDN)

A static site generator that produces blazing-fast HTML. Deployed automatically from a GitHub repo.

How it works

Write blog posts as Markdown files in a GitHub repo
Hugo compiles them into static HTML
Cloudflare Pages deploys automatically on each git push
Serve at calwizz.com/blog via Cloudflare reverse proxy rules or as a separate subdomain like blog.calwizz.com

Pros

✅ $0 cost — Cloudflare Pages free tier is very generous (unlimited bandwidth)
✅ Extremely fast — static HTML served from 300+ edge locations worldwide
✅ Perfect Lighthouse scores — 100/100 performance is achievable
✅ Zero server maintenance — no databases, no PHP, no security patches
✅ Free SSL, CDN, DDoS protection from Cloudflare
✅ Git-based workflow — version control for all content
✅ Many nice blog themes available (e.g. PaperMod, Blowfish, Stack)

Cons

❌ More technical to set up — requires Git, CLI, and Hugo knowledge
❌ No visual editor — writing is done in Markdown + Git (can add Decap CMS or Tina CMS as a headless GUI, but it’s extra work)
❌ Subdirectory routing is tricky — serving at calwizz.com/blog requires Cloudflare Workers or reverse proxy rules if the main site isn’t on Cloudflare. A subdomain (blog.calwizz.com) is much simpler but slightly worse for SEO
❌ No built-in newsletter/email — need a third-party service
❌ SEO plugins don’t exist — you configure SEO in theme templates manually (still very doable, just no hand-holding)
❌ Non-technical writers may struggle with the workflow

Setup effort: ~4-8 hours

Install Hugo locally
Pick a theme, configure hugo.toml
Create GitHub repo, connect to Cloudflare Pages
Configure custom domain/subdomain in Cloudflare
Set up reverse proxy rule for /blog subdirectory (if needed)
Write content in Markdown, git push to publish

SEO score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Technically excellent (speed, clean HTML, structured data via templates). But you have to configure everything manually — no Yoast-style hand-holding. Missing features like automatic XML sitemaps require template configuration.

#3 — Ghost (Self-Hosted)

Cost: ~$6/mo (DigitalOcean or Hetzner VPS)

A beautiful, purpose-built publishing platform. Open source, Node.js-based.

How it works

Spin up a $6/mo VPS (DigitalOcean Droplet or Hetzner Cloud)
Install Ghost via their CLI tool (one command on Ubuntu)
Configure nginx reverse proxy to serve at calwizz.com/blog
Write in Ghost’s elegant editor

Pros

✅ Beautiful, distraction-free editor — the best writing experience of any CMS
✅ Built-in SEO — automatic meta tags, structured data, canonical URLs, clean URLs, fast rendering
✅ Built-in newsletter/email — can send posts as emails to subscribers
✅ Built-in membership/subscription — if CalWizz ever wants gated content
✅ Fast and lightweight — much faster than WordPress
✅ Clean, modern codebase — no bloat, no plugin soup
✅ Nice default themes (Casper, etc.)

Cons

❌ $6-12/mo hosting cost — cheap, but not free
❌ Server maintenance required — OS updates, Ghost updates, SSL renewal, backups
❌ Subdirectory install needs nginx config — serving at calwizz.com/blog requires reverse proxy setup (doable but technical)
❌ Smaller ecosystem — fewer themes and integrations than WordPress
❌ Self-hosted email delivery — need to set up Mailgun ($0.80/1000 emails) or similar for newsletter sending
❌ Node.js stack — can’t run on Bluehost’s shared hosting (needs its own VPS)
❌ Ghost(Pro) is expensive for subdirectory install — $199/ m o B u s in ess pl an +$ 50/mo addon

Setup effort: ~3-5 hours

Create VPS on DigitalOcean/Hetzner (~$6/mo)
Run Ghost CLI installer on Ubuntu
Configure nginx reverse proxy for subdirectory
Point DNS, set up SSL (Let’s Encrypt)
Configure Mailgun for newsletters (optional)
Start writing

SEO score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Excellent built-in SEO. Clean HTML, fast rendering, automatic meta tags and structured data. Not quite as configurable as WordPress + Yoast, but very good out of the box.

Platforms Eliminated

Hashnode

Free tier: Custom subdomain only (blog.calwizz.com), not subdirectory
Subdirectory install (/blog): Enterprise plan only — custom pricing, likely $500+/mo
Verdict: Overkill and expensive for the subdirectory requirement. Better suited for developer blogs

Substack

No custom domain for the website itself (only for email sending domain)
Blog lives at calwizz.substack.com — cannot serve at calwizz.com/blog
Takes 10% of paid subscription revenue
Verdict: Wrong tool for a branded marketing blog. Great for independent writers, not for company blogs

Medium

No custom domain support (removed years ago)
Content lives on medium.com
Puts content behind Medium’s paywall
You don’t own the audience — Medium does
Verdict: Use it for cross-posting/syndication, not as primary blog

WordPress.com (Free Tier)

Free tier: calwizz.wordpress.com (no custom domain)
Custom domain: Personal plan at ~ $4/ m o ($ 48/yr)
Subdirectory install: Business plan at ~ $33/ m o ($ 396/yr)
Verdict: When you already have self-hosted WordPress on Bluehost, WordPress.com makes zero sense. Bluehost gives you more control for less money.

Final Recommendation

Just use the Bluehost WordPress you’re already paying for.

Why overthink this?

You’re already paying for Bluehost through Jan 2028 (~2 years of free runway)
WordPress subdirectory install at calwizz.com/blog takes an hour
WordPress + Yoast SEO is the most battle-tested SEO setup in existence
Any writer/marketer can use it without training
When you eventually need more (newsletters, landing pages, etc.), there’s a plugin for that

Quick-Start Action Plan

Log into Bluehost cPanel
One-click install WordPress → set install directory to /blog
Pick a clean blog theme (all free):
- Astra — most popular free WP theme, lightweight, tons of starter templates
- GeneratePress — developer favorite, ultra-fast, clean code
- flavor starter kit — clean, modern, blog-focused
- Or browse the WP theme directory → filter by “Blog” → pick what looks right
Install SEO plugin (free):
- Yoast SEO — most popular, beginner-friendly
- OR RankMath — more features on free tier, slightly steeper learning curve
Configure permalinks → Settings → Permalinks → select /%postname%/
Write your first post
Submit sitemap to Google Search Console: calwizz.com/blog/sitemap_index.xml

Total time to launch: ~1-2 hours Total additional cost: $0

🦝 Reggie's Vault

Explorer

blog-cms-analysis

CalWizz Blog/CMS Platform Analysis

TL;DR Ranking

#1 — Existing Bluehost WordPress (RECOMMENDED)

How it works

Pros

Cons

Setup effort: ~1-2 hours

SEO score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#2 — Hugo on Cloudflare Pages

How it works

Pros

Cons

Setup effort: ~4-8 hours

SEO score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#3 — Ghost (Self-Hosted)

How it works

Pros

Cons

Setup effort: ~3-5 hours

SEO score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Platforms Eliminated

Hashnode

Substack

Medium

WordPress.com (Free Tier)

Final Recommendation

Just use the Bluehost WordPress you’re already paying for.

Quick-Start Action Plan

Graph View

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