Astra Theme Review: Is It the Best Theme For Beginners?

If you’re a beginner looking for a WordPress theme that’s easy to use and customize, Astra is a great option to consider.

It’s one of the most popular WordPress themes on the market, and for good reason. It’s fast, lightweight, and SEO-friendly, and it comes with an array of features and customization options.

In this Astra theme review, we’ll take a closer look at:

• Features of Astra theme
• Astra speed & performance test
• Reasons to choose Astra
• Astra theme pros and cons
• Pricing of Astra theme
• Astra theme alternatives

Let’s get started!

Astra WordPress Theme Overview

Astra is a highly customizable, fast, and lightweight WordPress theme ideal for blogs, portfolios, business sites, and WooCommerce stores. It boasts a modular design, extensive plugin compatibility, and less than 50KB size on the frontend for superior performance.

It is built by Brainstorm Force, the same company that built popular WordPress plugins Ultimate Addons for Elementor, Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder, Convert Pro, Spectra, and many more.

Since its release, Astra has grown into one of the most popular WordPress themes around. It’s highly recommended by various big players in the WordPress ecosystem, like Syed Balkhi, Founder of WPBeginner.

Plus, the theme free version is the first and only non-default WordPress theme to cross the 1 million active installations mark.

Astra Theme Customer Reviews

On the WordPress.org theme repository, Astra got 4.9 out of 5-star ratings from more than 5,300+ reviews.

On Trustpilot, the Astra WordPress theme got 4.8 out of 5 stars from more than 1800+ reviews.

Plus, many professional experts also recommend Astra to users in their testimonials.

Astra Theme Review: Features List

Here are some of the outstanding features offered by the WP Astra theme.

• Lightweight and fast
• Starter templates
• Advanced header and footer builders
• Global color palette and typography
• Custom layouts
• Mega menus
• WooCommerce integration
• White label
• Sticky header
• Custom hooks
• Unlimited website usage
• 24/7 Premium support
• And Many more

Get Astra Pro

Astra Theme Review: Performance and Speed Analysis

As the fastest WordPress theme, Astra focuses a lot on performance in its advertising.

On their website, they make two major claims:

• Firstly, Astra only needs 50 KB of resources to work.
• Secondly, the default WordPress data loads in less than 0.5 seconds.

To check how fast Astra really is, we’ll conduct a test of the default ‘Hello World’ post after a fresh Astra installation.

Here are the Pingdom test results.

We got an A performance grade of 96, and the page size is 66.3KB (a bit more than the promised 50KB). These numbers are just amazing.

The file size was most likely because we selected an eCommerce theme rather than a basic blog theme. It still performs well!

And here are the Google PageSpeed Insights results.

We can see that the page load time ranges from 0.8s to 1.0s. When compared to the claims made by Astra, the performance is rather good.

Overall, if you want to improve your WordPress website’s speed and page loading times, Astra is a great option.

Top Reasons to Choose Astra for WordPress

Here are the primary advantages of using the Astra theme for your WordPress website.

1. Fast and SEO-Friendly Theme

Astra is one of the lightweight and fastest WordPress themes available.

Page speed is a vital factor for SEO. If you want to drive traffic to your website using SEO, it must load quickly.

You can easily optimize your website for search engines using Astra’s codebase architecture, which follows the best SEO practices. Astra also includes the Schema.org markup needed for better SEO performance.

Fortunately, both the Astra-free and Pro versions have been built for speed.

Astra sites use less than 50KB of resources compared to the usual 100KB needed by other WordPress themes.

Plus, Astra uses Vanilla JavaScript, which prevents render-blocking jQuery. The theme is well-coded as well. Astra-powered websites load in less than 0.5 seconds.

2. Astra Starter Templates

Astra offers you over 240+ ready-to-import website templates. Many of these templates are available for free, while some are premium templates.

Using starter templates, you can create professionally designed, high-performance websites in minutes.

Furthermore, you can use these pre-made websites with major page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Spectra for further optimization.

All of these free ready-to-import templates are conversion-optimized and designed for speed and conversions.

The starter sites are grouped into various industries:

• Business
• Finance
• Personal
• eCommerce
• eLearning
• Event
• Beauty & Fashion
• Travel & Tourism
• Blog
• And More

You can visit this page to check out all Astra Starter Templates.

3. Flexible Customizer Options

Another reason Astra is such a good option is its highly detailed customization options, which are accessible via the native WordPress Customizer.

In general, the Customizer gives you a ton of options when it comes to:

• Layouts
• Colors
• Typography
• Features
• Metadata
• And so on.

We can’t show you every single option since there are so many. However, we’d like to highlight a couple of our favorites.

The first is the drag-and-drop header/footer builder, which allows you to create a custom header using a simple interface like this:

Additionally, you get a lot of control options for other layouts. For example, you may change the layout of your blog pages, change metadata, etc.

You also have detailed global color and typography options.

4. Astra Pro Modules

On the Astra welcome page, you’ll find an option to use Astra Pro Modules. It displays 14 options for unlocking the full potential of the Astra theme.

You can simply toggle the options you want to use on and off.

5. Page Builder Integrations

One of the biggest advantages of using the Astra theme is its compatibility with major page builder plugins such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Spectra.

Astra is specifically designed to integrate seamlessly with the following page builders:

1) Ultimate Addons for Elementor

If you’re already using the Elementor page builder, this plugin is a must-have because it’s the most popular Elementor Addon, offering a number of Elementor themes and widgets.

It also offers you access to a large selection of website design options, as well as over 100 pre-made templates for creating any type of website.

2) Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder

If you use Beaver Builder, the Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder is a must-have plugin. You get access to over 60 custom modules, including features like Row and Column Separator, Info Box, Modal Popup, Timeline, etc, which improve your website-building capabilities.

You’ll also get over 40 ready-to-use full demo websites to help you quickly create any type of website.

6. WooCommerce Integration

If you run an eCommerce store, the WP Astra theme is a great fit for your site. It gives you access to WooCommerce Addon, which offers a ton of useful features to style and design your eCommerce store.

Here are some of the features you can find in the WooCommerce addon.

• Infinite Scroll
• Off-Canvas Sidebar
• Sales Bubble Style
• Dropdown Cart
• Checkout Options
• And more

7. White Label

This is a feature that most WordPress themes do not have.

The white-label option allows you to rebrand the Astra theme as your own product.

For example, if you’re a web designer or run a design agency, you may use this feature to hide the WordPress theme you’re using to build websites for your clients. You may also brand the design of your website with your name or the agency’s name.

8. Powerful Custom Layouts Feature

Custom Layouts allow you to create custom designs that you can “inject” into various parts of your site.

For example, you could design a CTA box that you want to display at the end of all your blog posts. Then, you could use Astra Layouts to inject it automatically into all blog posts.

You can even target your layouts to specific user roles, devices, times, dates, etc.

If you ever want to update that CTA in the future, you just update the Astra Layout, and that change applies all over your site.

9. Other Plugin Compatibility

Aside from page builders and WooCommerce, Astra also integrates well with other popular WordPress plugins. These include:

• LifterLMS
• LearnDash
• Easy Digital Downloads

10. Unlimited Website Usage

One of the most significant advantages of Astra themes is that you can use it on unlimited websites.

Astra also offers a “forever free” version with remarkable features and customization options.

The free version of Astra allows you to create both WordPress and WooCommerce websites.

How to Use the Astra Theme

After knowing some standout features, let’s see how to use the Astra theme.

1. Import Demo Site

Once you activate the Astra theme, it will prompt you to install the Starter Templates plugin, which allows you to import the demo sites:

When you activate it, you’ll see a new page in the Appearance menu called Starter Templates.

Next, you’ll select a page builder from Elementor, Beaver Builder, or Spectra.

Following that, you will see available templates of the page builder you choose. After you’ve selected your template, you’ll be asked to upload a logo and adjust its width.

After that, you can select from the default color and font options or customize them.

Finally, you can enter your personal information and import Customizer settings, widgets, and content for your starter site.

Astra will then import the starter site and its content.

Once finished, you should see a success screen and a demo video. You may visit your new website by clicking View Your Website button.

2. Customize the Demo Content

Then, using the page builder plugin, you may start customizing your site. Since we select the Elementor starter site template, we’ll customize it by clicking Edit with Elementor » Site Settings.

This will launch the Elementor dashboard. Here, you can customize your templates to meet your specific needs.

3. Use the WordPress Customizer

If you want to customize the design of your theme, you may also use the real-time WordPress Customizer. From here, you can change fonts, header/footer, colors, layout, etc.

Astra Theme Pricing

The core Astra theme is available for free on WordPress.org. The free theme alone comes with a good range of demo sites and a number of Customizer features.

However, in order to use all of the customization options, demo sites, and advanced features, you need Astra Pro.

Astra Pro costs $49/year or $199 for a lifetime license, both of which allow you to use it on a single website.

To use Ultimate Addons for Elementor, Premium Elementor Templates, or Spectra Page Builder, you’ll need at least the Essential Toolkit.

Should you use Astra Free or Pro? We think most users will benefit from the Pro version since it offers more options. However, you may always start with the free version and only upgrade if you see that it does not offer enough flexibility for your needs.

Get Astra Pro

Astra Theme Pros & Cons

Following are some pros and cons of using the Astra theme.

Pros:

• Fast and lightweight WordPress theme.
• Astra is compatible with all WordPress page builders.
• Offers you access to over 240+ pre-made starter website templates.
• Astra Pro price packages are affordable, starting at $49 per year.
• It is mobile-responsive and SEO-friendly.
• Offer a free version, which is enough for most WordPress beginners.
• Astra is highly customizable, allowing you to change every aspect of your website’s design.

Cons:

• Astra’s lifetime plans are expensive.

Astra Theme Alternatives

Along with Astra, there are several more great themes that are popular among users. If you’re not happy with Astra, you have alternative options.

So, here are some alternatives to Astra.

1) Divi

Divi is a strong multipurpose WordPress theme you can use to create websites in various niches. It is based on the Divi builder, a visual drag-and-drop builder that makes customizing the site a breeze. Furthermore, it offers hundreds of demo templates to help you build your site quickly.

In contrast to Astra, Divi is a totally premium theme. Furthermore, you’ll have to buy it as a bundle with the Divi theme and the Divi builder. Plus, you’ll get over 40+ website modules to choose from, such as sliders, call to action, forms, testimonials, and so on.

For more, check out our complete Divi theme review.

Price:

Divi is a premium theme that costs $89 per year for unlimited site usage or $249 for the lifetime plan.

Get Divi

2) GeneratePress

GeneratePress is the best Astra alternative that is smaller than 7.5 KB in size. Since it does not rely on jQuery, it is one of the fastest themes available. It’s also simple to use and works with all major page builders.

The free version, like Astra, does not include any demos and has limited basic features. GeneratePress Premium, on the other hand, gives you access to the whole professional site library, extensive customization features, and a dedicated WooCommerce module.

For more, check out our complete GeneratePress review.

Price:

A free version is available on WordPress.org. However, the pro version costs $59 per year for 500 sites or $249 for the lifetime plan.

Get GeneratePress

3) Zakra

If you value speed and advanced customization tools, the multipurpose theme Zakra is perfect for you. You can select one of its 80+ demos and change its entire design in just a few clicks.

It integrates with WooCommerce, making it simple to create a fully functional online store. Aside from that, it’s a lightweight theme that ensures good performance, unique design, layouts, various widgets, and much more.

Price:

A free version is available on WordPress.org. However, the pro version starts from $69 per year for a single site license or $199 for the lifetime plan.

Get Zakra

Astra Theme Review Final Thoughts: Is It Worth It?

If you’re searching for a WordPress theme that gives elegant designs without slowing down your site, Astra is absolutely worth it!

The theme checks practically every box for everything you want in a multipurpose WordPress theme.

It is fast, simple to use, highly configurable, and has a free version with many features.

If you want additional customization features and excellent support, the paid plan will definitely do the trick.

So what are you still waiting for?

Get Astra Pro

For more, check out these other helpful resources:

• Kadence Theme Review
• Kadence vs Astra
• GeneratePress vs Astra

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