Describe the editorial workflow
Ask the real author to demonstrate drafting, adding images, previewing, reviewing, updating and withdrawing an article. For ongoing multi-author publishing, verify the content workflow first. A low-change site with code maintenance available can also evaluate static templates.
Do not mistake a layout for a backend
Casper, Source and Edition are Ghost theme candidates; Clean Blog is a Bootstrap blog template. They target different installation environments. Downloading HTML does not automatically provide membership, subscriptions, content editing or email delivery; those require separate implementation and testing.
Evaluate reading, not only covers
Test long-form reading, code, tables, captions, mobile navigation and posts without images. For newsletters or members-only content, verify real permissions and email behavior rather than accepting a button shown in a demo as evidence that the workflow exists.
