What is Astra?
Astra is a combination of optimized code, ease of use, and a complete package. A perfect theme, a theme built for speed, made for business, made for your website. The theme makes it easy to import dozens of professional looking website designs, and there is a good selection of free plugins to extend the functionality.
It has quickly become one of the most popular WordPress themes for a reason. It’s free, quickly and easily adapts to different use cases thanks to the detailed settings of the WordPress Customizer and the sheer number of importable demo sites.
Features
I decided to explore the following features that I consider essential in the topic:
- Fast download speed
- good coding
- good documentation
- Websites for Beginners
- Easy theme customization
- Plugin integration
Also, I checked what you get with Astra Pro, looked at the types of sites you can build with the theme, and appreciated how Astra compares to three competing themes: Generate Press, Ocean WP, and the Beaver Builder theme.
The theme has a free version that’s easy to set up and start playing, as well as a fully functional pro version, so if you’re the hands-on type, get Astra now and start trying it out by reading our review.
Page speed
The theme claims to be relatively slender, with a load time of 0.5 seconds.
One of the reasons for Astra’s fast loading speed is that it doesn’t use jQuery. It also requires less than 50KB of additional resources compared to 300KB for some other themes.
The speed of your final site will depend on other factors, such as your choice of hosting and the plugins you use.
Code quality
Using a page builder to build most of your site, a well-coded theme as a base makes sense.
It is based on Automattic’s Underscores theme, which is the basis for modern WordPress default themes. It means that the piece is designed in a logical and orderly manner.
Since it is derived from Underscores, The theme has most of the functionality of the out-of-the-box theme for accessibility, but unfortunately, not all. For example, It is missing two things: a visual navigation link that can be overlooked when using the keyboard and underlined links in the main content. On the other hand, submenus are accessible via the keyboard, and you can enable breadcrumbs for more straightforward navigation.
The theme has various theme handlers that can be useful for developers looking to add their content. In addition, it supports schema markup, which helps your site’s SEO.
If you’d like to contribute to the topic, It is publicly available on GitHub.
Astra Documentation
There is nothing more frustrating than starting with a new topic and finding yourself struggling to get it done due to insufficient documentation.
Fortunately, this is not the case with Astra’s knowledge base: it is pretty extensive. Many articles contain explanatory screenshots, and some include instructional videos. It is an essential and valuable distinction for the review.
If you need more help getting the theme to look the way you want, there is a whole section on custom code snippets you can add to your site.
Astra Starter Sites
Building a website with Starter , sites will save you the confusion when creating complex layouts. Naturally, you’ll need to modify the images and demo content, but with that said, you can create a professional-looking website in no time.
The import is smooth and fast; all necessary plugins are installed and activated automatically. I love that you can import the entire site at once instead of a single page, which can save you a lot of time in WordPress.
As a bonus, when you install the starter site (via the Starter Templates plugin), you can access the entire Pixabay image library from your media library, saving you time searching for stock images.
Astra customize
Astra’s Customizer offers several options. For starters, you can change the colours of the main themes, use Google Fonts, and adjust the layout of posts and pages. In addition, there are widget areas for the header, sidebar, and footer.
Several themes allow you to upload a logo, and that’s it. Not Astra! You can also change the logo display and download different versions for Retina displays or mobile devices.
Integration with the Astra plugin
The creators of Astra have worked hard to make it compatible with popular plugins. As mentioned earlier, Astra works well with page builders. By default, the theme has a right sidebar, but you can turn it off to create full-width layouts on pages and other types of content or throughout your site.
If you’re building an eCommerce site, Astra is a good option for your Woo Commerce store. The Astra theme relies on default Woo Commerce options to give you more control over the look of your store’s pages and products. If you only have downloadable products, Astra also supports the Easy Digital Downloads plugin.
Price
I couldn’t write our review of the Astra WordPress theme without rating it purely in price and quality. Although the Astra theme from WordPress.org is free, some of its powerful elements are included in paid updates.
There are three upgrade levels: Astra Pro, Astra Mini Agency Bundle, and Astra Agency Bundle.
With Astra Pro, you get access to more starter site templates, although some of the best are reserved for Agency Bundle subscribers.
But for most people, the main reason for buying an Astra Pro is the Pro features. So what did you get?
The theme offers three different types of pricing plans
All of these three plans paid by Astra include the items listed below.
- Astra Pro ($ 47): Take the theme to the next level with customization and flexibility
- Mini agency package ($ 169): everything you need to reload your favorite page builder
- Agency package ($ 249): A complete set of products to grow your agency business
Astra Pro units
It has 18 modules that you can switch to for more customization options. However, four of them require corresponding plugins.
- Colours and background
- seal
- interval
- Pro. Blog
- mobile head
- head sections
- Navigation menu
- fixed head
- Page titles
- Custom layouts
- Website layouts
- app widgets
- Scroll up
- Maryam Al-Dahil Books for Rich Academy
- Easy download digitally
- LearnDash
- LifterLMS
- white card
While you can change colours or add a Back to Top link yourself, using Astra Pro is faster and easier.
Astra Pro features
- 20+ Free Starter Templates
- Individual assistance
- Intensive learning
- Unlimited site use
It is a free theme. They also provide premium versions with additional features suitable for professional publishers and not regular bloggers.
Other features :
- Superfast work
- Page Builder Integration
- Convenient interface
- Woo Commerce Compatible
- Availability ready
- SEO markup
- Translation and RTL ready
- 100% open source
FAQ
Can I benefit from this reduction on the Astra Agency bundle?
Yes, this offer applies to all purchases and upgrades in their store. This means that you can purchase the Agency Pack, and if you want to upgrade your plan, you can take advantage of this 25% discount.
Can the theme promo code be applied?
You don’t have to apply anything manually, as the coupon code is automatically applied on all pricing pages and the upgrade page.
Can you use the theme with page builders like Elementor?
The theme is by far the best plugin I have used with Elementor. This site uses Elementor with the Astra theme.
What’s your return policy?
They strongly believe in their products and support customers 100%. But they understand that this may not work perfectly for everyone. So if you are not satisfied, they will gladly refund your money. For a refund, you have to apply within 14 days of purchase.
What kind of support do you provide?
We pride ourselves on providing personalized professional support to our clients through our ticketing system.
We pride ourselves on providing personalized professional support to our clients through our ticketing system.
So, don’t miss this great opportunity to create your WordPress business website with an inexpensive theme.
If you miss this chance, you will have to wait a year. No coupon is required; follow the special offer link and get a discount.
Since I have been using the Astra Pro theme for several years, I highly recommend this flagship theme for building your website that reflects your business brand without code.