Scroll

Scroll

Documentation

Scroll is a full-screen, vertical snap-scrolling feed theme for Ghost, inspired by short-video apps. It pairs a swipeable post feed with a bottom-sheet reading experience — full comment support, custom sharing, and a lock badge for gated content. This page covers everything you need to set it up.

Key Features

  • Full-screen vertical snap-scrolling feed, TikTok/Reels-style
  • Bottom-sheet post modal with swipe-to-dismiss
  • Custom slide-out navigation with expandable groups
  • Dedicated Authors directory and Tags directory page templates
  • Native Ghost Comments support
  • Custom share modal (Copy Link, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Messenger, Email)
  • Lock badge for members-only and paid content
  • QR code widget for scanning the site on mobile (desktop only)

Installation

  1. Download the theme .zip file.
  2. In Ghost Admin, go to Settings → Design → Change theme.
  3. Click Upload theme and select the .zip file.
  4. Once it's validated, click Activate.

If the upload is rejected, the most common cause is the zip containing a wrapper folder instead of the theme files at the top level.

Quick Start Checklist

Right after activating, do these in order:

  1. Set your logo and accent color under Settings → Design → Brand.
  2. Enable Comments — see Comments below.
  3. Create the Tags and Authors pages with the exact slugs tags and authors — see Optional Pages.
  4. Set up your Navigation — see Navigation for the prefix syntax.
  5. Add your Social Accounts if you want them in the footer.

Theme Settings

All of these live under Settings → Design → Theme settings.

SettingTypeOptionsWhat it does
Nav sizeSelectSmall / Medium / Large / Extra LargeControls the size of icons and touch targets in the bottom navigation bar.
Show metaBooleanOn/OffToggles whether author/date meta info is shown on feed cards.
Tags page titleTextDefault: "Topics"The heading shown at the top of the /tags/ page.
Authors page titleTextDefault: "Authors"The heading shown at the top of the /authors/ page.

Set up navigation under Settings → Navigation. Scroll's slide-out menu supports expandable groups using a prefix system typed at the start of each Label — no code required.

PrefixMeaning
(none)A plain link
#First item of a group — clicking the label navigates, clicking the arrow expands/collapses
-A middle item inside a # group
+The last item inside a # group — required to close it
% @ $Same roles as # - +, for a second separate group

Example:

Label: Home              URL: /
Label: #Discover         URL: /tags/
Label: -Authors          URL: /authors/
Label: +Tags             URL: /tags/

Optional Pages

Scroll ships with page templates that activate automatically based on the Page slug:

SlugTemplate
tagsTags directory
authorsAuthors directory

To use either: create a new Page in Ghost Admin, then set the URL slug to match exactly. You can leave the page content empty — the template handles the layout.

Bottom Navigation

Five fixed actions: Home, Search, Menu, Account, and Share. On the home feed, the counter on the right shows your position (e.g. 3/12); on any other page it becomes a Back button.

Sharing

Tapping Share opens a custom modal with Copy Link, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Messenger, and Email, plus a "More" option that falls back to the device's native share sheet.

Image Sizing

For best results, upload feature images in portrait orientation, around 1080×1920.

Comments

Scroll supports Ghost's native commenting system. Enable it under Settings → Membership → Comments, then choose who can comment (all members, paid members, or off).

Announcement Bar

Display a message at the top of your site — for promotions, launches, or updates.

  1. Go to Settings → Announcement Bar.
  2. Click Customize.
  3. Enter your message and choose a background color.
  4. Choose visibility (public visitors, free members, or both).
  5. Click Save.

Social Accounts

Connect your social profiles under Settings → General → Social accounts. Scroll displays the icons you fill in — X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Mastodon, TikTok, and YouTube — automatically in the site footer.

Updating the Theme

All of your settings (colors, navigation, theme settings) are stored in Ghost's database, not the theme files — you can safely upload a new version of the .zip without losing your configuration.

Troubleshooting / FAQ

Q: My navigation isn't showing a dropdown.
A: Double-check the Label field uses the exact prefix symbols (#, -, +) with no extra space, and that the group ends with a + item.

Q: The Tags/Authors page is blank.
A: Make sure the Page's URL slug matches exactly (tags, authors) and the page is Published.

Q: Comments aren't showing on my posts.
A: Enable commenting under Settings → Membership → Comments.

Credits and Support

Theme: Scroll, by PeopleThemes
License: Commercial — see the included LICENSE file
Support: hello@peoplethemes.com