Astra Theme Review: Is it worth trying? 2023

In the dynamic landscape of website development, WordPress themes stand as a pivotal element in crafting unique and functional websites.

Among the plethora of themes available, the Astra theme has carved out a significant place for itself, promising a blend of versatility and user-friendliness that appeals to both novices and professionals.

What is Astra?

Astra is not just another WordPress theme; it is a powerhouse that facilitates the creation of websites that are both aesthetically pleasing and functionally robust. Designed to cater to professionals and creatives alike, it offers a rich tapestry of features that can support portfolios, e-commerce platforms through plugins like WooCommerce, and, of course, blogs.

The Brainstorm Force, the mastermind behind Astra, touts it as the perfect base for any site, a claim strongly supported by its impressive ratings on WordPress.org. With a stellar accumulation of 5-star reviews, it stands as a testimony to the theme’s fast loading time, easy customization options, and premium customer service.

Target Audience: Whether you are a blogger, a business owner, or a creative professional, Astra serves a wide array of audiences with its versatile features.
Review Ratings: The theme enjoys high regard in the WordPress community, with users praising its speed and the ease of customization it offers.
Brainstorm Force: The team behind Astra, Brainstorm Force has a reputation for creating products that are both innovative and user-friendly, making Astra a reliable choice for your website needs.

In the next sections, we will delve deeper into the core features of Astra, exploring what makes it a favorite among WordPress users and whether it lives up to the hype.

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Core Features of Astra Theme

Performance Optimization

In the realm of WordPress themes, performance optimization is a cornerstone, and Astra stands tall in this regard. Let’s delve into the specifics:

Loading Time: Astra is renowned for its swift loading time, ensuring that visitors to your site enjoy a seamless and smooth user experience. The theme is so lightweight that it requires a mere 50K of resources, translating to lightning-fast load times that keep users engaged.

Resource Requirements: Despite its rich feature set, Astra maintains a minimalistic approach to resource utilization. This not only ensures faster loading times but also contributes to a cleaner, more efficient backend structure, facilitating stability and functionality.
Backend Design and Code Stability: Astra takes pride in its professional backend design and code stability. It employs self-hosted Google Fonts, storing them locally on your server to foster a fast-acting interface. This meticulous attention to detail in the backend design ensures that your WordPress site remains stable and functional, providing a robust foundation for your online presence.

Design Options

When it comes to crafting a website that resonates with your brand identity, the design options offered by Astra are both expansive and intuitive. Here we explore the myriad of options available:

Layouts: Astra facilitates the creation of a customized website even without any design or programming knowledge. It offers a wide array of layouts that help in crafting a site that is both beautiful and functional. You can explore a variety of layouts on platforms like ThemeForest and Themecafe to find the one that suits your style.
Header and Footer Options: The theme provides extensive header and footer options allowing for customizable menus, navigation, social links, and more. These options empower you to design a website that is not only visually appealing but also user-friendly, enhancing the overall user experience.

Customization of Page Headers: Astra goes a step further by offering unique functionalities in the customization of page headers. You can set rules and inject your creativity to design page headers that resonate with your brand’s ethos.
Color Scheme and Typography Options: The theme offers a dedicated section where you can set your unique color scheme and typography to match your branding and style. This feature ensures a cohesive look across your website, enhancing its aesthetic appeal.
Sidebar Customization: Astra stands out with its feature that allows creation specific sidebars that display only on certain pages, rather than globally. This facilitates better control over crosslinking and content strategy, ensuring a structured and organized website layout.

In the subsequent sections, we will delve deeper into the customization options that Astra offers, exploring the avenues it opens for website creators to inject a personal touch into their digital spaces.

Customization Options

Astra theme takes customization to the next level, offering a range of features that allow you to tailor your website exactly to your preferences. Let’s delve into some of these options:

Use of “Hooks”: Astra allows the use of “Hooks,” a feature that enables you to inject your own code into various parts of pages to perform actions, retrieve data, or add other functionalities. This feature is particularly beneficial for those with a bit of coding knowledge, offering a playground to enhance the website’s functionalities further.

Creating Custom 404 Page: The theme facilitates the creation of a custom 404 page, where you can link to products, newsletters, or social media, turning a potential error page into an opportunity for engagement. Learn how to create an engaging 404 page with this guide.
Gutenberg Page Builder Custom Layouts: Leveraging the Gutenberg page builder, Astra enables you to create custom layouts with ease, moving content where you want and designing pages that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Find out more about the Gutenberg page builder here.

Pros and Cons of Using Astra

Advantages of Astra

Astra comes packed with a host of benefits that make it a go-to choice for many website developers. Here are some of the standout advantages:

Pre-built Layouts: Astra offers pre-built layouts that significantly ease the process of creating a new website. These layouts are a boon for beginners, offering a head start in the website development journey.
Drag-and-Drop Builder and Code Editing Options: The theme supports both a drag-and-drop builder and direct code editing options, catering to both novices and experienced developers. This dual feature ensures a flexible and user-friendly design experience.
Regular Updates: Astra is known for its regular updates, which not only introduce new features but also safeguard your site against potential cyber vulnerabilities, ensuring a secure and up-to-date website environment.

Disadvantages of Astra

Despite its impressive feature set, Astra comes with its own set of drawbacks. Let’s explore the potential downsides:

Learning Curve for Beginners: While Astra offers a rich array of features, it also presents a steep learning curve for beginners. The plethora of options can sometimes be overwhelming, necessitating a period of learning and adaptation for those new to website development.

In the following sections, we will delve deeper into the practical aspects of using the Astra theme, offering insights into building a page with Astra and exploring the vital integrations that can enhance your website’s functionality.

Building a Page with Astra

Step-by-step Guide

Building a page with Astra is a straightforward process, thanks to its user-friendly interface and a range of features that facilitate easy customization. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process:

Navigating to Pages in WordPress Dashboard: Start by logging into your WordPress dashboard. Once there, navigate to the ‘Pages’ section where you will find all the pages of your website listed.
Opening the Page Builder: Next, open the Page Builder. If you are using the Gutenberg Editor, you will notice the page settings as usual, including Page and Block on the right-hand side. Here, you can start building your page from scratch or edit an existing one.

Utilizing Astra’s Unique Page-Building Features: Astra offers a range of unique features to enhance your page-building experience. Click on the Astra logo located at the top right corner of the screen, next to the Settings icon, to access Astra’s unique page-building features. Here, you can explore a range of options including changing the content layout, adjusting header and footer settings, and much more. Learn more about these features in Astra’s official guide.

Important Astra Integrations

Astra theme offers seamless integration with a variety of tools to enhance the functionality and efficiency of your website. Let’s delve into some of the key integrations:

WooCommerce Integration

WooCommerce stands as one of the most popular e-commerce platforms, and its integration with Astra is nothing short of a boon for online store owners. This integration allows you to create a standard grid layout for e-commerce category pages and even facilitates a dropdown cart feature, enhancing the shopping experience on your site. Learn more about WooCommerce integration here.

Elementor Integration

Elementor is a drag-and-drop page builder that makes customizing your site a breeze. The best part is that it works perfectly with the Astra theme, allowing you to leverage additional customization options including motion effects, multiple fonts, and enhanced background images. Find out more about this integration.

HubSpot Integration

For teams already using HubSpot as a CRM, integrating it with your Astra-powered website can streamline your marketing and web efforts. This integration facilitates features such as form building, popup notifications, and site analytics, enhancing your website’s functionality manifold. Learn more about HubSpot integration.

SEOPress Integration

In the digital age, SEO cannot be overlooked. The SEOPress integration with Astra aids in optimizing your site for search engines, helping you rank better for your targeted keywords. This plugin works exceptionally well with Astra, offering techniques such as breadcrumb trail to enhance your site’s SEO. Explore the SEOPress integration in detail.

Astra Plugins

Recommended Plugins

To further enhance the functionality and ease of use of your Astra theme, it is recommended to integrate it with some powerful plugins. Here, we delve into some of the plugins that are highly recommended for users of the Astra theme:

Astra Widgets: This plugin adds useful widgets to your website, enhancing its functionality and user-friendliness. It offers widgets for business info, list icons, and more, allowing you to add essential elements to your site with ease. Learn more about how to effectively use Astra Widgets here.

Astra Bulk Edit: Simplify the process of editing multiple posts or pages at once with the Astra Bulk Edit plugin. It allows you to apply changes to your content in bulk, saving time and effort. Find out more about this plugin.
Astra Customizer Reset: At times, you might want to reset all the customizer settings to their default. The Astra Customizer Reset plugin facilitates this, allowing you to start afresh with your customizations.
Import/Export Customizer Settings: This plugin facilitates the easy import and export of your customizer settings, making it simpler to manage your website’s design elements across different environments.

Customizer Search: Enhance the efficiency of your customization process with the Customizer Search plugin. It allows you to quickly find the settings you are looking for, streamlining the customization process.
Sidebar Manager: Manage your website’s sidebars efficiently with the Sidebar Manager plugin. It allows you to create custom sidebars and display them on specific pages or posts, enhancing the user experience on your site.
Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg: This plugin integrates seamlessly with the Gutenberg editor, offering a range of additional blocks that enhance the functionality and design of your website. Learn more about the Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg.

In the subsequent sections, we will explore the differences between the free and pro versions of the Astra theme, helping you make an informed decision on the best option for your website needs.

Astra: Pro vs Free

Overview

When it comes to choosing a WordPress theme, one of the critical decisions you will face is whether to opt for the free version or to invest in the pro version. The Astra theme offers both free and pro versions, each coming with its own set of features and benefits.

Free vs Pro Version: The free version of Astra is quite robust, offering a range of features that can help you build a functional and attractive website. However, the pro version takes it a notch higher, offering advanced features and customization options that can truly make your website stand out. Learn more about the differences here.

Pricing Details: The pro version comes with a pricing structure that offers flexibility and options to suit different budgets. You can opt for an annual subscription or a lifetime package, depending on your preferences and needs.

Features of Pro Version

The pro version of Astra comes packed with a host of features that can significantly enhance your website’s functionality and appearance. Here are some of the standout features:

Site, Blog, and Footer Layouts: Enjoy a wider variety of layouts for your site, blog, and footer, giving you more creative freedom in designing your website.

Google Fonts: The pro version offers integration with Google Fonts, allowing you to choose from a vast array of fonts to suit your brand’s style.
Color and Background Customization Options: Elevate your website’s aesthetics with advanced color and background customization options.
Header Designs and Layouts: Craft unique header designs and layouts that resonate with your brand’s identity.

Plugin Integrations for Courses: If you are planning to host courses on your website, the pro version facilitates seamless plugin integrations to support this feature.
Customer Support: Last but not least, the pro version offers premium customer support, ensuring that help is at hand whenever you encounter issues or have queries. Explore the full range of features here.

Conclusion

As we reach the conclusion of our deep dive into the Astra theme, it is clear that this WordPress theme offers a rich array of features, both in its free and pro versions.

Recap: We have explored the various facets of the Astra theme, from its core features to the range of customization options it offers, and the different plugins and integrations that can enhance your website’s functionality.
Final Thoughts: Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned developer, the Astra theme stands as a reliable choice, promising a blend of versatility and user-friendliness that can cater to a wide array of website development needs. Explore the Astra theme further here.