Astra vs. OceanWP: which one is best?

In the vast realm of WordPress themes, two names often stand out due to their popularity and versatility: Astra and OceanWP. Both themes have carved a niche for themselves, offering users a plethora of features and customization options.

Their standing as two of the most sought-after WordPress themes is a testament to their quality and adaptability.

Astra vs. OceanWP: which one is best?

Astra: A Brief Overview

• Astra is one of the most popular WordPress themes available today.
• It offers professional designs, a multitude of customization options, and robust support for third-party WordPress plugins.
• Astra’s quality is evident, with its high-quality pre-made designs known as “Starter Sites”.
• There are over 70 designs available for Astra, with 35 of them being accessible for free.
• A unique feature of Astra is its recognition by Google as an AMP-ready WordPress theme, emphasizing its quality of coding.

OceanWP: A Glimpse

• OceanWP, like Astra, is a top contender in the WordPress theme market.
• It provides users with professional designs, extensive customization options, and compatibility with third-party WordPress plugins.
• OceanWP boasts of its “theme demos”, with a total of 73 pre-made designs. However, only 13 of these are available for free users.
• In terms of design quality, some believe that Astra has a slight edge over OceanWP, but OceanWP offers a broader range of customization settings.

Commonalities Between Astra and OceanWP

• Both themes offer native support for WooCommerce, ensuring seamless integration for online stores.
• They prioritize fast-loading websites, SEO-friendly markup code, and have excellent support for drag-and-drop page builders.
• Translation readiness is a given, with support for right-to-left languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian.
• Both Astra and OceanWP have a lot in common, but they also have their unique strengths. For instance, Astra emphasizes its lightweight design requiring only 50KB of resources to load, while OceanWP highlights its ‘Market-Leading WooCommerce Integration’.

Templates/Demo Sites

In the realm of WordPress themes, the availability of demo sites or templates can significantly influence a user’s choice. These templates provide a starting point, allowing users to visualize and build their websites more efficiently.

Astra’s Demo Sites

• Astra offers a rich collection of demo sites, catering to various niches and industries.
• Known as “Starter Sites,” Astra provides more than 70 designs, with 35 available for free.
• These templates are compatible with a range of builder plugins, ensuring flexibility for users.
• Astra’s templates are recognized for their high-quality designs, catering to both novices and professionals.

OceanWP’s Demo Sites

• OceanWP stands out with its “theme demos,” boasting 73 pre-made designs.
• However, a limitation is that only 13 of these designs are accessible to free users.
• A unique aspect of OceanWP’s templates is their exclusive compatibility with the Elementor page builder.
• While design quality is subjective, some users might find Astra’s designs slightly superior in terms of variety and aesthetics.

Customization Options

Customization is the heart of any WordPress theme. The ability to tweak and tailor a website to one’s preferences can make or break a user’s experience.

Astra’s Customization Features

• Astra is renowned for its vast array of customization options.
• Even in its free version, Astra offers a plethora of design choices, though the pro version significantly expands these options.
• A highlight of Astra’s customization features is its drag-and-drop header/footer builder, allowing users to design unique headers and footers effortlessly.

OceanWP’s Customization Capabilities

• OceanWP is not far behind, offering users a comprehensive set of customization tools.
• The free version of OceanWP is particularly impressive, providing more customization options than its counterpart, Astra.
• OceanWP’s strength lies in its detailed theme customizer, enabling real-time changes and previews.

Page Builder Integrations/Page-Level ControlsThe integration with page builders is a crucial aspect of any modern WordPress theme. It determines how seamlessly a theme can work with popular drag-and-drop builders, enhancing the user’s design capabilities.

Astra’s Integration with Page Builders

• Astra offers tight integration with several popular page builders.
• Via the “Astra Settings” in the block editor sidebar, users can:
  • Choose the number of sidebars.
  • Change the content layout.
  • Disable specific elements like the header, title, footer, and more.
  • Opt for transparent or sticky headers.
  • Select a custom page header.

OceanWP’s Integration with Page Builders

• OceanWP provides a comprehensive set of page-level controls.
• With the “OceanWP Settings” box (enabled by the free Ocean Extra plugin), users can:
  • Change the content layout and width.
  • Choose a custom sidebar.
  • Disable elements like the title or footer.
  • Modify navigation menus.
  • Inject custom content at various parts of the page.

While both themes offer extensive page-level controls, OceanWP provides more granular options, catering to those who crave detailed customization.

Developer Features

For advanced users and developers, the ability to inject content using hooks is invaluable. Hooks allow for the insertion of content at specific points in the theme, enhancing flexibility and customization.

Introduction to Hooks

• Hooks enable the addition of content at various locations within the theme.
• They can be used to add call-to-action boxes, insert ads, or any custom content.

Astra’s Custom Layouts Feature

• With Astra Pro, users gain access to the powerful “Custom Layouts” feature.
• This feature allows for the creation of:
  • Headers
  • Footers
  • 404 Pages
  • Hooks
  • Inside Post/Page Content
• The “hooks” option is particularly potent, letting users inject custom content or code at any hook location.
• Astra also provides conditional options to control content injection based on content type, user roles, dates, and devices.

OceanWP’s Ocean Hooks

• OceanWP offers the premium “Ocean Hooks” add-on.
• This add-on allows users to inject text, shortcodes, PHP, and HTML code into any of OceanWP’s hook locations.
• Users also benefit from conditional logic to execute hooks based on content, logged-in status, and user roles.

In the realm of developer features, while both themes offer powerful tools, Astra’s Custom Layouts feature provides a slight edge in flexibility over OceanWP’s Ocean Hooks.

Other Notable features: In the vast landscape of WordPress themes, the unique features often set one apart from the rest. Both Astra and OceanWP come packed with features that cater to a variety of user needs.

OceanWP’s Unique Front-End Features

• OceanWP stands out with its array of front-end features, enhancing user experience.
• Some of its unique offerings include:
  • Login popups
  • WooCommerce popups post add-to-cart
  • Cookie notices
  • Modal windows for any content
  • Portfolio displays
  • Instagram feed integration
  • Sticky content options
  • Custom Elementor widgets

Astra’s Theme Customization Features

• Astra, on the other hand, emphasizes theme customization.
• Rather than focusing on front-end features like OceanWP, Astra enhances the backend customization experience.
• Astra’s premium version is geared towards:
  • Adding extra theme customization options
  • Providing users with a more streamlined and intuitive customization experience

WooCommerce Integration

WooCommerce has become the go-to solution for online stores on WordPress. How a theme integrates with WooCommerce can significantly impact the user’s e-commerce experience.

WooCommerce Support in Astra and OceanWP

• Both Astra and OceanWP offer deep integration with WooCommerce.
• They provide options in the Customizer to control the online store’s appearance and functionality.

WooCommerce-Specific Features in Astra

• Astra offers features like:
  • Drop-down shopping carts
  • Off-canvas sidebars for product filters
  • Built-in product quick view
  • Distraction-free checkout options

WooCommerce-Specific Features in OceanWP

• OceanWP shines with its unique WooCommerce features, such as:
  • Custom WooCommerce popups
  • Floating add-to-cart buttons
  • Detailed customization options for product displays and checkout processes

In the realm of WooCommerce integration, while both themes offer robust support, OceanWP might have a slight edge due to its unique e-commerce features. However, Astra ensures a smooth and efficient WooCommerce experience, making both themes excellent choices for online store owners.

Other Notable IntegrationsWhen it comes to extending the functionality of a WordPress theme, integrations play a pivotal role. Both Astra and OceanWP have made strides in ensuring compatibility with a range of plugins, but their focus areas differ.

Astra’s Integrations

• Astra stands out with its integrations beyond just WooCommerce. It has built-in support for:
  • Easy Digital Downloads for digital eCommerce.
  • LearnDash for online courses.
  • LifterLMS for online courses.
• These integrations allow users to seamlessly set up online stores or educational platforms without compatibility issues. Moreover, Astra provides dedicated options in the Customizer for these plugins, ensuring a cohesive design experience.

OceanWP’s Compatibility

• While OceanWP is compatible with the aforementioned plugins, it doesn’t offer built-in Customizer settings for them. This means that while the plugins will function correctly, users might need to put in extra effort to ensure design consistency.
• However, it’s worth noting that OceanWP’s general approach ensures that most plugins will look decent out of the box.

Speed and Performance

In today’s digital age, speed is paramount. A theme’s performance can significantly impact a website’s user experience and SEO rankings.

Performance Metrics Comparison

• Initial tests indicate that Astra is slightly more lightweight “out of the box” compared to OceanWP. Key metrics include:
  • Astra: Page Size of 39 KB with 7 HTTP Requests.
  • OceanWP: Page Size of 127 KB with 15 HTTP Requests.
• These numbers suggest that Astra might offer faster load times, especially for users with slower internet connections.

OceanWP’s Scripts & Styles Panel

• One of OceanWP‘s standout features is its Scripts & Styles panel. This tool allows advanced users to manually disable specific CSS and JavaScript files, potentially reducing page size and HTTP requests.
• While this feature offers a way to optimize OceanWP’s performance, it might be a bit complex for casual users.

Pricing

Choosing the right theme for your WordPress site often boils down to the balance between features and cost. Both Astra and OceanWP offer free versions, but their premium offerings unlock a plethora of advanced features.

Free Versions

• Astra: While the free version is feature-rich, it does limit some Customizer options. However, it generously offers a lot of templates even in the free version.
• OceanWP: The free version is more generous in terms of Customizer options, making it a favorite for those who wish to configure everything from scratch.

Pro Versions

• Astra:

• Priced at $47 for the first year for unlimited sites (renewal at $59).
• The premium version focuses on unlocking more Customizer options and advanced features.
• Bundles are available that include other plugins from the developer.
• To access premium demo sites, the $169 Essential Bundle is required.

• OceanWP:

• Starts at $54 per year for up to three sites.
• The premium version unlocks new demo sites and front-end features such as popups, cookie notices, and more.

🏆 Winner: Astra offers better value for those needing a theme for multiple sites due to its unlimited site usage. However, OceanWP might be more appealing for those focusing on a single site and wanting extensive customization options.

Conclusion

After a detailed comparison, it’s evident that both Astra and OceanWP are top-tier WordPress themes, each with its strengths. Astra shines in terms of out-of-the-box performance, demo site variety, and deep integrations with plugins like LifterLMS and LearnDash. On the other hand, OceanWP stands out with its extensive customization options and unique front-end features.

For most users, Astra might be the better all-around choice, especially for those prioritizing performance and a user-friendly Customizer experience. However, for those who value intricate customization and specific front-end features, OceanWP could be the better pick.

FAQs

Q1: Why is Astra considered more lightweight than OceanWP?

Astra has been optimized for performance, resulting in a smaller page size and fewer HTTP requests out of the box. However, OceanWP offers tools like the Scripts & Styles panel for advanced users to optimize performance manually.

Q2: Which theme offers more demo sites?

Astra offers a larger variety of demo sites, with over 280 unique demo sites available. In contrast, OceanWP provides around 200 demo sites, all built with Elementor.

Q3: How do Astra and OceanWP compare in terms of WooCommerce integration?

Both themes offer deep integration with WooCommerce, providing Customizer options and specific features to enhance online stores. While both are excellent for WooCommerce stores, OceanWP has a slight edge due to some of its unique features.