Introducing Vanta: the theme this blog runs on

Vanta is the Ghost theme this blog runs on — a dark-first theme for tech publications and creators, built from scratch and configurable entirely from Ghost Admin. Everything you see here (the table of contents on the left, the code blocks below, the dark/light toggle in the header) ships with the theme, no code required. It costs $69 one-time at planethemes.com/vanta.

Rather than telling you what Vanta does, this post uses it. Consider the page you're reading the honest version of a feature list.

What is Vanta?

Vanta is a theme for people who publish about technology, engineering and the creator economy — or anyone who wants a serious, fast reading experience with dark mode as a first-class citizen. It was designed around three ideas: the reader's experience comes first, the publisher should never need to edit code, and performance is a feature, not an afterthought. No frameworks, tuned Core Web Vitals, and markup that passes accessibility checks.

The table of contents you're using right now

If you're on a desktop screen, there's a table of contents tracking your position in this post. Nobody wrote it: Vanta builds it from the headings, automatically, on any long-form post. You can switch it off per post from Ghost Admin when a piece doesn't need one. Writers write; the theme does the navigation.

Code blocks that respect your readers

Technical publications live and die by their code samples. Vanta ships syntax highlighting with language detection, sensible line wrapping and a copy button — hover over this block and try it:

// Vanta highlights this automatically — and yes, the copy button works
const reader = {
  theme: "vanta",
  mode: window.matchMedia("(prefers-color-scheme: dark)").matches ? "dark" : "light",
};
console.log(`Reading in ${reader.mode} mode`);

Dark mode, light mode, reader's choice

Vanta is dark by design, but the light palette is not an afterthought: both are hand-tuned, and the toggle in the header lets each reader decide. First visits follow the reader's system preference. Try it — this post reads well either way, which took longer to get right than we'd like to admit.

Three layouts, zero code

The home feed can run as a Grid, a Magazine or an Editorial List, switched from theme settings. The same goes for the rest of the theme: hero texts, badges, featured sections, reading tools — every one of them lives in Settings → Design → Theme settings in Ghost Admin. If you have ever maintained a customized theme through version upgrades, you know why this matters: your configuration survives, because it is configuration, not edited code.

Battle-tested in production

Vanta is not a mockup with lorem ipsum. It powers pipol.news, a live magazine with hundreds of articles, members and newsletters running in Spanish — one of the 16 locales the theme ships with. Real content breaks themes in ways demos never do; that is where most of Vanta's fallbacks and edge cases come from.

Pricing and what's included

Vanta costs $69, one-time. That includes use on unlimited Ghost sites you own, 6 months of email support, and free updates for the whole 1.x series. Until September 4, 2026, the launch code LAUNCH20 takes 20% off at checkout.

Get Vanta at planethemes.com/vanta →

Frequently asked questions

How do I install Vanta?

Upload the zip in Ghost Admin → Settings → Design → Change theme → Upload. It works on Ghost(Pro) and any self-hosted Ghost 5.0 or later.

What does the $69 license include?

Use on unlimited Ghost sites you own or operate, 6 months of email support, and free updates for the whole 1.x series.

Can I customize Vanta without touching code?

Yes. Every text, section and reading tool is exposed in Settings → Design → Theme settings, and colors follow your accent color automatically.