Before the arrival of the Astra WordPress theme, customizing a website to your liking was only available to a few.
At best you had to spend a lot of time modifying the code if you were knowledgeable enough.
At worst, you had to hire an expensive developer and designer.
Rinse and repeat every time you need to make any modification!
Everything changed with the release of Astra.
With its intuitive interface, templates and powerful customization features you could get the website you wanted in a matter of minutes.
Astra is without a doubt one of the best WordPress themes around. Its free version can even beat most premium themes out there.
If you want to know why, continue reading this review where we’ll explore its key attributes and the features that have made it the go-to choice for more than 2 million websites worldwide.
8 Astra theme features that makes it better than others
Let’s see the top 8 reasons why more than 2 million websites currently use this theme.
1. Lightweight and Fast
Astra has always been known for great performance. Even with all the features it includes, pages weigh less than 50 kb and load in less than half a second!
Astra is very well-optimized and follows the latest coding standards. It doesn’t use jQuery and self-hosts Google Fonts, making your site blazing fast.
On a clean WordPress install with Astra theme enabled I got 100 points on the desktop version and 98 for the mobile one.
That’s before making any of my own optimizations or setting up caching. Which is great!
2. 250+ Pre-built website templates
To date the Astra team has created more than 250+ templates that you can install with just a couple of clicks.
You’ll find templates for every scenario: online stores, portfolios or link in bio are just some of them.
Think of anything you need and there will probably be a template for it.
The number of templates is constantly increasing to meet new needs and trends.
If you run an agency or you’re going to launch many projects, using Astra templates is a smart choice.
Whatever types of client you have, there will be one or more templates to suit.
Astra Starter Templates are:
- Easy to use: The installation wizard sets everything up in just a couple of steps, allowing you to create stunning websites with minimal effort.
- Performance-driven: Astra and its templates are designed with performance in mind. I thought that by using one of these templates the speed would be drastically reduced but it wasn’t the case.
- Very customizable: Templates provide extensive customization options so you can tailor your websites to your needs.
- Integration friendly: You can seamlessly integrate templates with popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, Gutenberg or Brizy. As well as third-party plugins like WooCommerce or LearnDash.
- Regularly updated: Astra and its templates are regularly updated to ensure compatibility with the latest versions of WordPress and to add new features and optimizations.
Astra templates simplify the website design process and eliminates the need for advanced design skills.
The online academy template I tested was up and running in less than 30 seconds.
Templates include an eye-catching homepage and internal pages like course listings, FAQs or pricing tables, that otherwise would have taken me much longer to create.
3. Highly Customizable
Whichever template you choose you can easily adapt it to your brand or to the design you have in mind.
In Astra almost everything is customizable:
- The global color palette will help you manage all the colors across your website in one place.
- You can add typographic presets for your different headers and texts.
- Choose from over 700 Google Fonts or use your own custom fonts.
- Change paragraph margins.
- Customize everything you see on the page.
You can easily access all these customization settings from the dashboard.
This intuitive control panel helps avoid wasting time navigating through multiple menus to find the option you need.
Every control and option is right there on a single screen.
4. Variety of Website Layouts
Layouts don’t add as much to your branding as the colors, fonts and other customization that Astra offers.
But they will give you enormous freedom in creating the website structure you need.
You can modify:
- The site layout: So the site fills the entire width of the screen, a maximum width, be padded or fluid.
- The container layout: To decide how to display the content inside each page. This includes a boxed and a narrow version where you can specify the width you want.
Best part? You can define different container layouts for different custom post types!
Astra goes further and also offers layouts for different parts of your website.
- Blog layouts: Display your latest articles as a list, grid or masonry. You can enable an infinite loading feature, highlight the first post and manage pagination as you wish.
- Article structure: So that you can control how the featured image, title or meta text appear.
All this can be defined from the preferences. No need to use code or have advanced knowledge.
I like this aspect of Astra as not everyone wants the same size or shape of pages. It certainly saves time and effort coding that’s for sure!
5. Integration and Compatibility
Astra gets along very well with a multitude of WordPress tools.
It’s 100% compatible with Elementor and Spectra and will work with any compliant plugin.
You can also create online stores using SureCart or WooCommerce as the theme integrates with these plugins smoothly.
If you decide to use WooCommerce you can also enjoy:
- Product grid display with customization settings.
- Off-canvas sidebar to show extra info on demand elegantly.
- Sales bubbles to increase click through rate and sales.
- Infinite scrolling on your products page.
- Quick view on products so buyers can see them in more detail without having to open a new page.
- Dropdown carts to easily show what customers bought without having to open another page.
Astra is a multidisciplinary theme, but has a very important branch that revolves around eCommerce.
In fact the 3.9 update was focused on offering a new shopping experience.
If you want to set up an eLearning platform using LearnDash or LifterLMS, Astra also has you covered.
It has been tested extensively with all these plugins and even comes with a few dedicated Starter Templates for online course websites.
6. Header and Footer Options
Having a great header and footer is crucial since they offer a lot of dynamism and personality to a website.
Thanks to Astra, you’ll be able to modify both to a whole new level.
You can start with very simple customizations such as:
- Making your header sticky so that the menu is always available and present to readers.
- Add transparency to make it look much more elegant and professional.
- Easily customize the header for mobile devices.
In fact since Astra 3.0 there is a header and footer builder available with which you can easily add the content you want to show and create the design you need for these two elements.
7. Custom Layouts
The custom layouts module is one of the most powerful modules in Astra Pro.
We all have clients that want something a little different. We all know those who don’t want a standard page layout and expect you to code something specific for them.
Thanks to custom layouts, you have much more freedom to create the design and layout you need without having to touch code.
There are different custom layouts that you can create:
- Custom headers and footers: Enable on the whole website or on specific pages.
- Custom content layouts inside pages: Design a custom section and embed it at any location inside your pages and posts.
- Custom 404 pages: Use a more attractive and useful 404 page than the default option.
- Custom layout hooks: Inject custom code and content anywhere.
Most of these elements can be easily created using your favorite page builder.
And the best part is that you can show them manually or also enable automatic display conditions.
So, if you have one of those clients that wants to break the rules like I do, you can now give them exactly what they want!
8. Up to Date
Technology is always changing and WordPress is always evolving. You need your theme to do the same.
Whether you’re building a website for yourself or for clients, it needs to stay up to date and current.
There’s no point building an amazing new website for a client only for the theme to become obsolete a couple months later.
Unlike other themes that go months or years without being updated, Astra is constantly being developed. There’s a coherent roadmap for years to come, so it’s a solid bet.
Astra Theme Customer Support Review
I found Astra incredibly easy to use, but there may come a time when I need a little help.
There is lots of documentation, a bunch of help videos and a knowledge base, but sometimes a little human interaction is required.
So how does Astra stack up?
Pretty well it seems.
Astra has dedicated support for the theme. Even if you use the free version, send them a question and you’ll get an answer, even over the weekend!
Astra has a ticketing system where you can send questions you may have, include screenshots or provide your login details for more direct and efficient support.
A curious detail of the Astra support system is that it allows you to choose the type of response you want to receive.
This is awesome!
- If you’re not a techie you just want the answer or the issue to be solved without needing more details. A Normal reply will give you that.
- If you’re more experienced you may want to understand everything in more detail. A Geeky reply will give you that.
It’s a little thing, but a nice touch that personalizes support in a genuinely meaningful way.
You’ll receive a copy of your message and a reply by email.
Everything will be organized and tracked in a “my tickets” section so you can review it at any time.
If you want more direct support you can also use the chat function.
As a rule of thumb the Brainstorm team will resolve your issues in less than a day. Even for free users.
You may never need support though.
Astra is so easy to use, anyone should be able to follow the wizards and the instructions to build a website.
If not, it has an extensive knowledge base with hundreds of articles and support videos.
Astra WordPress Theme Security
As you might imagine from a theme that is used on millions of websites, security is an important factor.
The good news is, the developers take security very seriously indeed.
Many of the updates the theme receives throughout the year are focused on protecting your website from attackers.
Whether that’s tightening up the code, fixing issues or addressing potential vulnerabilities, you’re covered.
To date, no serious incidents have been reported for the Astra theme.
A few years ago a moderately important vulnerability was discovered in another plugin from the company.
But it was resolved in a couple of hours.
If something like that happens again, I have full confidence they’ll do the same thing in the same amount of time.
Astra Free vs Pro Comparison
With so many features, it can be complex to figure out which ones are available for free in a theme and which are not.
The new Astra dashboard makes things much clearer, as this is where many of the Pro features are enabled.
You’ll find an extensive comparison of the features that are available for Astra free vs pro on the website.
Instead of repeating them all let’s simplify this section by answering the question.
Who should get the Pro version and why?
- Agencies and freelancers who want to white label their work and present designs made with Astra as their own.
- eCommerce store owners who are using WooCommerce and want a much more attractive and functional online store thanks to better checkouts, different layouts or upselling features.
- Entrepreneurs who want to sell using Easy Digital Downloads and who want to freely modify the design.
- Online instructors who want to create a beautiful online academy using LifterLMS or LearnDash.
- People who want even faster and higher priority support.
- Websites with many categories that you want to organize using a mega menu.
But above all you should buy Astra Pro if you want to have total control over the design of your website.
Thanks to the site and blog layouts, header and footer builder, off-canvas menu and other tools, you have complete freedom to design websites any way you like.
Astra Pricing
If Astra’s premium features appeal to you, buying a license is very affordable.
You can start using Astra Pro for just $47 for the first year with renewals at $59.
That’s a bargain considering that you can use the theme on unlimited sites!
If you want to forget about renewals and receive lifetime updates you can buy a lifetime version for a one-time fee of $227.
To put it in perspective, StudioPress themes cost $360/year!
For much less than that you could buy the Astra Business Toolkit, which also includes:
- 180+ premium templates.
- WP Portfolio plugin to easily showcase your portfolio.
- Ultimate Addons for Elementor or Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder: Extra widgets, templates and blocks to create better designs.
- Convert Pro plugin to capture leads efficiently.
- Schema Pro plugin to implement schema markup in a simple way.
- The all new Spectra Pro premium page builder.
- SkillJet academy membership
The Business Toolkit provides everything you need to create and grow your online business.
It even provides professional video training from thought leaders to help you build a business and earn more from it!
Final thoughts
Astra gives a lot of benefits for free.
Its optimized code and half-second loading speed will help you rank in Google, while at the same time, offering a great browsing experience for your readers.
It allows you to modify its design efficiently to get the website you need thanks to its global color palette, button presets and Starter Templates.
These design options increase with the Pro version. It gives you access to the mega menu, custom layouts and many more customization capabilities.
Being fully compatible with WooCommerce, LearnDash, LifterLMS or Elementor means that you can use it also for your online store or your online academy as well.
This great versatility and reliability is why I recommend Astra both for newcomers and for pro bloggers and web agency owners. Whatever type of website you want to build, Astra helps get the job done!
158 thoughts on “Is the Astra theme worth it? Find it out in our honest”
Hi Adam!!
Thanks for your advice
Hi, I was using an Astra agency bundle with a year’s license.
It expired long ago.
Now I am getting an offer from the astra team to renew it with a lifetime bundle for $270 for Astra Agency Lifetime.
Should I spend $270 there?
Please suggest as the offer expires in 10 hours from now.
It’s really up to you and how much you are really using it. There are better themes that have come along, just take a look at the free Kadence Theme that many people are switching to from Astra.
Hey there,
I should say I am really shocked with you not recommending Astra theme anymore.
I have used Astra theme free for some time, I had no problem with speed and SEO the only problem was with Customization which I think Astra pro theme would have solved that.
Anyway, World is moving forward, Everyone should too, Astra them too
Astra is still a solid choice, but better options always come along. And it’s not just me seeing that here. In the last 2 months, over 10k websites switched from Astra to Kadence Theme because they want these crucial features. The header/footer builder, global color palette, etc.
Yeah I totally agree with you Adam,
But in speed which one is better, Astra or Kadence Theme?
Because I think the simpler the theme the faster it would be.
There is no speed difference between the two. But if you want to get technical, The size from Kadence Theme is a few KB less then Astra. However real world there is no speed difference in what you would feel as a website visitor even though Kadence is lighter.
Ok Adam,
thanks for the suggestions.
No difference between Kadence and Astra yet you recommend Kadence which has fewer prebuilt themes.. no Agency white label options or portfolio features… does not make sense
No difference lol? Have you taken even the smallest amount of time to see the massive difference between these 2 themes? What doesn’t make sense is your comment. But sure if you like your 3 header styles with Astra vs a complete header building system. Or when you change your mind on a color, you prefer to spend 20 minutes to find the 20 places you set that color in Astra to make the change, vs a globally linked color palette with Kadence. To me, that doesn’t make any sense at all which is why I stopped using Astra.
Keep in mind you are comparing the paid version of Astra to the free version of Kadence here. When the Pro version of Kadence Theme is released next month it will have white labeling, more templates, and an all-around better feature set, but it already does with the free version of Kadence Theme. It’s why in the last 2 months over 10k people have switched to it.
Also, Astra doesn’t have any portfolio features nor should any theme because not everyone needs a portfolio feature.
Hello Adam,
Kadence options are very advanced indeed, in particular for woocommerce pages, and it’s free, that’s amazing!
But it hasn’t yet the hooks control like Astra, that let you add code and widgets wherever you want conditionally. Do you think that option is no longer needed because you can do the same with Elementor templates?
Yes that is coming in a few weeks.
Looking to Start building WordPress sites instead of Clickfunnels for several different clients and I just have a few quick questions.
Does the Kadence Theme also have templates like Astra does?
Does Kadence work with Cart Flows and Woo-commerce?
Does it take a much longer time to build sites using the Kadence theme compared to Astra?
By the way, your youtube channel is one of the best!
Yes Kadence Theme works great with CartFlows. They don’t have the wide range of templates though. I find that most people are initially attracted to templates, but later never use them because its so much work to undo what the templates have to make it work for you.
I used Astra Pro for a year based on your recommendation. Found it pretty easy for a starter but limited for growth. I didn’t opt for renewal and would like to switch to Kadence Theme. How do I do the transfer or do I have to rebuild from scratch?
It’s actually very easy and I did cover it in my Kadence Theme tutorial over on my YouTube channel.
Hey man. I sell websites (specially e-commerce) and would like to know if you recommend Astra or some other software. Astra’s license is use-on-as-many-websites-you-want whereas others are quite more expensive. Do you think Astra is the way to go for my use case?
You can. Astra is good. You would get better ecommerce features out of the free Kadence Theme and you wouldn’t even need to be concerned about licensing.
Hello Adam, which theme do you recommend if I want to build membership website?
Right now it would be the Kadence Theme.
I have build my website https://digitalmarketinglight.com/ I LOVE it. But there is something that i don’t like at all. And its ASTRA support…whihc i got no support and now even don’t rely on them at all…
i bough the PRO version,most expensive ,agency.
i have had some issues , after i have updated it to a to a newer version, the website wan’t working at all for weeks.
And guess what, Although i was promised a good service as they say on their website, i haven’t got a response for month.I have contacted them in a few ways, even on Facebook group.No response. But once they finally got back to me-they came back with explanations why they haven’t got to me and i didn’t get a fix. i got so tired-i says instead of compaining and explaining, can you provide me an answer. Guess what=i got it fixed myself and a few good people i found on forums. No help from ASTRA theme. Very POOR costumer service.
And my decision was based on your youtube tutorials.Sort of not surprised a lot you are not using them anymore…
Sorry to hear about your experience with Astra support and thank you for coming here to share your experience.
Yes I was a big fan of Astra when it was released 3 years ago, but completly stopped using it 9 months ago. I try to be as transparent as possible with the people that visit my website and watch my videos.
Unfortunately as time progresses, better products come out. As you may know, I have switched to using the Kadence Theme which I think is better in every way, and it’s free on top of that.
If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know.
I’m taking the Elementor Course and was seriously considering Astra based on your recommendations, (June 29, 2020). Now seeing this post, I’ll avoid it. I think that it would be helpful to add some sort of a note or a banner in the course page so that people can see your updated recommendations. Thanks.
I am remaking that course right now. It’s so hard sometimes to update recommendations because they can change for reasons that I don’t have any control over :-(. Glad you came by this post. Right now Kadence Theme is the theme I now exclusively use. The features and ease of use are unmatched.
Hi Adam,
1) Which theme do you recommend as the best now to replace Astra? Is it Kadence?
2) You said you’re using BuddyBoss, but if we don’t need all the community features yet, can we use e.g. Kadence and later easily move to BuddyBoss?
3) Does Kadence work well with Elementor and do we still need it?
You said the list goes on of why Kadence is better, but in what way?
I can’t find much info on Google and also on your site of the benefits. Thanks!
You should keep tabs on my YouTube channel because I have been answering all of these questions there :-).
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwn20GiePPQ
Yes it works great with Elementor and you can switch to BuddyBoss later if that was your preference.
Thanks Adam. Missed that vid. Just watched it. Appreciate you doing the walkthrough for it.
I’ll use Kadence and switch to BuddyBoss later if needed to grow community.
In your experience, how easy is it to switch?
Will we be able to retain all designs etc and SEO settings etc? Thanks
Yes it is super easy to switch. All your SEO settings will be in an SEO plugin that is not tied to your theme. I recommend using RankMath for your SEO and have a full-length tutorial on it.
Since you are no longer using Astra, do you still recommend it?
Well, of course, Astra “still works” but it has majorly fallen behind other themes that are available. For instance, take the Kadence Theme, it’s just better in every way and its completely free. It has a very useful header and footer builder to enable you to build any header layout you could imagine. The list goes on and on where it is better.
Is this the theme that you use for this website I am on right now? I love the mobile toggle menu on this page especially how the menu slides in from the side. More importantly I like how in that sliding menu you have your logo and buttons. How do I get this type of menu for my site????
I stopped using the Astra Theme in 2019. For this site I am using the BuddyBoss theme. If you want a similar toggle, check out the Kadence Theme.
I Want to buy astra agency bundlel for 1 year. I want to use your link so that I can enroll your courses. Please tell me what I need to do now.
Hey so you would simply visit https://www.wpcrafter.com/order-astra then after you place your order, send a copy of the receipt via my contact page.
I have a question: does Astra or Astra Pro theme provide membership discount or cash dollar rebate feature or anything retain returned customers? If it does not, please recommend any other plugin or theme that will do the job. Thx!
It’s just a theme. That question would be better asking in our community forum here https://www.wpcrafter.com/community
Hey Adam,
I so happy to see you have made such great resources here
I am using Astra it is very nice theme
WPAstra is highly problematic in my experience. People should know that if you have a secure server it will never install because it cannot. So this is highly suspect. I have tried it on 3 servers & the result is the same. It will not install. Simply does not work at all. If you talk to support, they are friendly but they are one of these companies who can only offer 1 solution which is to let them login to your server to see what the problem is which is even more suspicious. They should at the very least have a manual install option through ftp for such issues, but they do not which really makes me wonder exactly why. I know most basic blogs & WP sites don´t care alot about security, so this will fall on deaf ears since this theme & company are so highly promoted. But anyone who needs stability & security should consider this before coughing up the few hundred dollars for the Premium Sites & even Agency options which I did pay for.
As per my knowledge Astra is a complete product. Not SAAS. Its not remotely controlled by API or Cloud. Please clear these doubts:
Mikel you wrote:
People should know that if you have a secure server it will never install because it cannot. So this is highly suspect. I have tried it on 3 servers & the result is the same. It will not install.
Q: What was the reason for not being able to install Astra on secure server? What error you found?
Regards
I have several content pages using free Astra theme and when I upgraded to Astra Pro I see an ecommerce theme called Brandstore. Should I make Brandstore a “child” to the Astra theme? How do I that? Or, should I use Brandstore as my theme?
It’s not a child theme, but instead it loads in the specific customizer setting to make the site look that way.
I had using Astra theme and it no has any issue the most like of this theme is speed optimization it loads very fast.
Whilst using Astra I have noticed that the mobile header does not display the same on every page?
And the mobile footer does not act responsively on all pages either… is there something I can do to correct this?
I haven’t experienced that before. Are you using some performance plugin that may alter how your website works?
Hey Vicky,
had the same issue and resolved it by making my logo a little smaller in the mobile setting for the logo under site identity in the customizer.
Great tutorials sir. I’d like to see loads more on Elementor tho.
After a few years of using the Astra Mini Agency theme… I cancelled my auto-renew subscription today. I realised that this year, my last 6 sites, while I have installed the Astra theme, I never actually used any of the features or settings.
Everything has been controlled via Elementor, so I’ve moved over to the Hello theme. So far, so good!
p.s. almost bought cartFlows yesterday….. but the client wouldn’t pay the price. Maybe consider cheaper versions, maybe limiting it to one site for $99 pa? food for thought…
Yea I hear that more and more from Elementor Pro users, that they do everything in their page builder.
Hi Adam,
Thanks for creating such a detailed video on Astra Pro, I know it’s a lots of work. I only have 1 question for you, how come it said $99 for Astra Theme on your site but it’s actually showing only $59 and I also saw there is a 10% discount available.
It doesn’t say that on my website if you re-read it. It says I am offering a course that I sell for $99 when you purchase Astra.
Newb here and probably missed this somehow…all this requires WordPress business sub for $300 correct? In order to install plugins?
Just get hosting at SiteGround or any quality web host that is not WordPress.
Thank you. I love your videos! Very helpful.
I found your videos and website after upgrading to Pro. There’s a BF sale now and I’m considering mini a or agency. Is there a way to purchase at the sale price and add in your course?
Oh yes of course. It’s included when ordering through the link on my site.
Hello
I’m curious to know what happens if I completely remove Elementor and just buy Astra Pro. All I do is blog any ways, and I stick to a certain format. I only used free Elementor in the beginning for a few posts as well as my homepage. Will Astra pro be enough? And does it affect SEO when you switch a ranking page from elementor to plain gutenberg?
You could do that and not have any issues. Now that we have the Gutenberg editor, you will be able to format your blog posts really nice.
Hi Adam, i’m currently using Astra Free and thinking of buying Astra Pro but i have little concern.
Right now when i try to built a custom single product page for my store using elementor pro but some elements say the following and display nothing…
” The style of this widget is often affected by your theme and plugins. If you experience any such issue, try to switch to a basic theme and deactivate related plugins. ”
That’s why i have doupts in purchasing Astra Pro.
Do you think it’s because something i’m doing wrong or ?
Sounds like more of a warning than anything else. I haven’t experienced that before.
Adam
You have recommended Astra theme over Avada theme because of “lock-in” to Avada theme, also its unique way of doing things. Are you saying Astra does not lock you into its theme and support – in case Astra goes out of business or I want to switch to another theme. What about continuing support from Astra if you stop paying for it? Is’nt it true that you just have to accept paying for the upgrade and support costs to both Avada and Astra? It appears that you have to pay more for Astra Pro if you want their built-in or demo websites. With Avada, you get 50 pre-built websites. Am I missing something. Is Elementor Pro more user-friendly and easy-to-use than Fusion Builder that you get with Avada? Please elaborate – I am trying to make a decision. Thx.
There is no theme lock-in with the Astra theme. Also there is no comparison between the ease of use with Elementor vs Fusion Builder. Elementor is leaps and bounds better.
Hello, I got here after searching as I am new to WP. My question is that if I pay for ASTRA pro., will the functions be deactivated after I stop the subscription ? What of Elemntor pro ? Thanks for great tutorials…
Regards
Bashiro
Oh it will still work perfectly fine 🙂
Same with Elementor. What happens though, is over time the free version and the expired pro versions will get out of sync. So as time passes the out of date pro version may no longer work as expected.
Tnx a lot senior !
i followed your tutorial on the astra car repairing theme but after building my website i noticed when someone sends a message it doesnt come to my email inbox.
how can i resolve it,i have already talk to my domain provider namecheap and its not from their end,its from wordpress can you help please?
i followed your tutorial on astra the car repairing theme and used it to build an ecommerce website but when i send message to the forms on the pages it doesn’t come to my email how can i resolve this please?
Please watch my video on sending email from WordPress.
Hi Adam, do you have any recommendations on which Astra theme would be awesome for videos (like, lots!) and digital products? Also, what is your favorite plugin for selling digital products? Thanks!
You can sell digital products using WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads. Both offer file delivery and protection.
Adam, is the PRO version 100% responsive? The free version doesn’t seem to be!
Yea the free and pro are 100% responsive. If you are having an issue it may be related to something you are adding to your page.
Hello, dear Adam! I can’t click on the link you provided. Can you please link below to Astra Pro for 1 y and Elementor Pro? I would like to apply for your free training with the receipts. Thank you very much!
I just linked them in your comment for convenience 🙂
I’m about the buy Astra themes, I hope it’s the right decision too. I will follow your leading on this. Thanks for the review
link to purchase mini agency
Thanks
It’s the same link. Thanks for your support.
Are there any issues with Adsense on Astra Pro? Do auto ads work on Astra Pro?
None that I am aware of.
What is the difference between when to use Astra functions or Elementor functions to build components of a website? ie. a section with both text and images, inserting a video in a section, etc.?
Well the lines are really blurred if you have Elementor Pro which enables you to create headers and footers using Elementor. Elementor, or any page builder, will always get you more design control over what your theme offers.
Hi I bought the astra lifetime theme through your website. I’m still waiting to get access to your courses. I haven’t gotten any responses to your emails. How can I get access?
If you emailed it to the email listed on the contact page, you would have received it fairly quickly.
Good morning I’ve been reading your review and what I don’t find is that you mention the breadcrumbs, do you have them incorporated or do you have to create them through php?
Thank you very much and congratulations for the very detailed study you have made of the theme.
a greeting
kino
There is a breadcrumbs option in the customizer settings, including placement options (where you want them to appear)
Hello, I love your tutorials. I am started using Astra free version and will upgrade ASAP. But I have one simple question. Can I add Adsense ads on Astra Free version? Please reply fast.
You can add Adsense to any WordPress theme.
I like Astra but with Woocommerce it is absolutely atrocious!!!
The product image is twice the height of the viewport and reducing the image size does not change this.
There seems to be extremely no options to change the woocommerce layout.
Disappointed zero star rating from me at the moment.
Something doesn’t sound right there. Perhaps its the dimensions of your image or something else.
Hey Adam,
I have just watched your video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT60FPCTDZg
and looking for configuring templates under Mega Menu, But unable to locate it, Please help me.
I am a Pro User of Astra.
How are you making the mega menu? The times I have used it I just made the mega menu in Elementor.
I noticed you did not create a child theme? Does Astra not have any custom code required for each site at all that can be overridden when it is updated?
I find that most people don’t really need a child theme. They have one available and they are easy to make yourself, but really most people don’t even need it.
Interested in astra pro theme + pro elementor. Are there templates for content sites focused on blogging/news? A local news site/blog, heavy on content and lots of stories.
premium training course which normally sells for $49, how can I get it, please
Instructions are on my contact page.
Great review.
One thing I am missing, but maybe is available. Do you know if Astra allow for secondary menus?
Is it possible to customise the mobile header setup?
Thanks!
Do you mean to have a menu above or below the header? In that case yes, as you see on my website I have a second menu in the header but when you view on a mobile it’s all merged.
Yeah, I see it now. Not sure I am happy with all the options that Astra provide for menus. I need to test it myself I think. Thank you!
The only menu option they don’t have is a split menu.
I’ve just brought Astra through your website, how can I turn of the scroll to top function? Thanks
Hey Matt, that is an easy one, you can simply deactivate the extension. Visit Appearance > Astra and you will see a list of extensions you have activated. You can simply deactivate the scroll to top. I have mine deactivated on this site because it gets in the way of my live chat.
Why use astra theme if elementor can do the same thing
Well because they don’t do the same thing at all. They don’t do anything the same, they don’t service the same purpose. That’s like saying what do I need a house for when I have a couch.
Hi,
Because of Adam’s recommendations, I’m now using Astra Pro Theme and Elementor Pro Theme. Really love it. Could use them both without much learning curve.
I came across 1 challenge though. Been searching Youtubes but couldn’t find any guide.
I want to place a Button on Astra Header along the main navigation menu.
This Button when clicked, will Pop-up a Window displaying a Form created by Elementor Form.
Is there any way for me to do this?
Hi,
I finally got it done. happy happy. Using text widget which I placed an elementor short code.
It is based on Adam’s Astra tip video at https://youtu.be/4Iekm9DF6bQ from minute 52.00 .
Thanks Adam.
To make any of the main menu navigation items be a button is so easy with Astra. In the WordPress menu settings, you need to check the screen options to make sure CSS Class is enabled. Then for the specific menu item, enter the word button. This is how they are doing it in their demos.
Now I understand that you want a popup to be triggered with an Elementor Pro form. Unfortunately, Elementor doesn’t have a way to do this. There is a plugin named PopBox for Elementor, it may have an option to trigger popups via an ID. I would need to check.
Hi Adam,
I tested the PopBox. No controls for size and position, though. Couldn’t find them. Maybe I didn’t test it enough. Zero CSS knowledge at my end.
So I used Popup Maker plugin. Works well for me. Lots of controls for the popup window. Placed an Elementor Form shortcode into a popup window.
Then hooked the send button to Mailchimp. Simply love how Elementor made this so easy.
So I guess, for this particular project I’ve tried most of Elementor Pro functions on Astra Pro.
There’s 1 other thing. I tried to upgrade Elementor Pro Personal to Business. My PayPal keeps rejecting it. But nevermind for now.
Thanks again Adam.
Ok, yea I haven’t really spent any time with Popup Maker. Glad to hear it worked for you.
That’s odd that you are having upgrade issues. I am sure you can contact Elementor support and they will be more then happy to upgrade you 🙂
Awaiting on that check.
Great video!
Hello, Adam
How would you compare Astra to Genesis framework and those themes?
Thanks!
Toki
There is a huge difference here. Astra is going to make it VERY easy for you to make changes, change styles, have full control really, all from the customizer. Genesis themes have little to no options in the customizer, everything needs to be custom coded via custom functions and custom CSS. The problem with that is it is completely unnecessary. I just find the Genesis theme is only for developers that want to hand code everything because there is no benefit to hand coding over Astra making it easy for anyone to do what they want without code.
Hi, love the videos you put out, there full of really good content. I am currently in the process of setting up a website using WordPress and have installed Astra for my theme. I am a bit worried about investing so much time into the setting up of my website. Only to worry about this particular theme not doing updates, causing me my website to not load or function correctly.
Astra is very reliable and backed by a very successful company. They are the ones I trust with my website and have never let me down.
Hi Adam, I am using the Astra basic theme with Elementor Pro (bought through your site!) to make an ecommerce store. Im finding it hard to integrate woocommerce functions like the cart button in the menu etc. Have you a tutorial on making a woocommerce store on the Astra theme with all functionality from scratch? Im not worried about the design of the site as you have covered that really well in other tutorials, just the woocommerce part!! Thanks a mil.
Well, you are in luck because today the WooCommerce integration is launching in beta. The final version will be out in a week. Here is the link to test the beta, and I do have to say it is beautiful https://wpastra.com/woocommerce-integration-beta/
Hi, I use Astra a lot, it’s my favorite theme and your videos have really helped. I am having a problem getting videos to work on mobiles though – have tried everything I can think of…. mp4, webm, hevc, h.264 and nothing will play on iphones. Have you had this problem before?
I don’t recommend that you add video that way. It’s an encoding issue and it is complicated. This is why it is better to use YouTube, Vimeo, or some service like that where you simply give them your video, and they make a format for all devices. WordPress is not capable of dynamically showing the right version for the right device.
Thanks so much for answering. So if I learn how to set up my site this weekend with Astra Pro and Elementor , can I add the ecommerce ready fonctionality in a few months ?
Or is it something I have to do all at once ?
Thanks again 🙂
Yes you can at any point. You most likely will use WooCommerce, its a plugin you can install at any point.
Hello 🙂
I tried asking a question before but I lost it somewhere along the way ! I’m a complete newbie and have to set up a Blog and Shop site.. Do you recommend Astra for ecommerce or another theme ? It’s not so clear if it’s set up for ecommerce / social media feeds/ supports photos..
Thanks for all your hard work and for your suggestions !
Astra is the perfect theme for any purpose. That being said, for e-commerce, in December 2017 they are releasing advanced e-commerce styling to their pro version which will make it even better.
Hi Adam,
Big fan of yours – the info is great!
I’m wanted to know what you thought would be the best combination of page builder and theme (if necessary) for an ecommerce site. E.g. elementor pro + astra?
Also, I want them to be able to integrate with tradegecko…
Thanks!
Astra is the theme I would pick, you would want the Pro version though because it will give you the most flexibility to add your own custom styling to your store.
Hi Adam,
I have been following all your videos there are great.
Thank you for sharing such a valuable info.
I’m having a small issue at the moment with adding a new submenu page.
So basically I got an Astra Theme (not a pro version) with Beaver Builder.
I add the page as usual then add to the menu under sub-item, all looks good.
But when I click on the sub menu page it doesn’t take me there. It basically takes me to a home page.
What could be an issue? Could you help me please?
Thank you
Wow, that’s very strange. I would suggest sending a support ticket to the developer, they are great about fixing any issues fast.
Nice review purchased 😉
I’m not sure if I’m just confused. Is the idea to download Astra as the theme and then use a page builder like Elementor for additional things or to modify the theme? Also, can you create blog posts within WordPress still or do they have to be done in Astra/Elementor?
Really good and fast theme, but there is no any educational/courses ready made template to import and play with. Too bad.
Not sure I follow you there. Are you looking for a specific template? Have you seen Astra Sites, the free plugin that allows you it set up over 40 complete websites with 2 clicks of the mouse?
Thanks for a great video. I’ve been using BB Pro with the BB Theme but i will change over to this AAstra and will use your link to get it. I’ve got 2 non Aastra questions if you dont mind answering:
1. What software did you use to record the video? I really like the circular frame around you!
2. What are you using to cause the video to shrink and get sticky when I scroll? I’d love to add that function.
Thanks. Hope you’ll indulge me.
Yea I have talked about it in the past. Right now I am using Camtasia for all my videos and for the sticky video, just do a search for that, it’s a codecanyon plugin.
hello adam!
1. any idea when the astra woocommerce compatibility will be out?
2. is it possible to use astra simultaneously with beaver builder (for the themer functionality), and with elementor (for the better widgets/addons)?
3. or did elementor anywhere pro, catch up with beaver themer?
Thanks for answering adam.
I know the WooCommerce extension is a high priority, but not sure on the release date. My guess is it is a matter of weeks. And yes Astra is fully Beaver Themer compatible. Sadly Anywhere Elementor Pro will never be as powerful as Beaver Themer because it doesn’t have field connections and can’t since it is a 3rd party plugin.
Hi Adam,
Do you know if Beaver Themer can be used comfortably with Astra Pro? Perhaps not for headers and footers (as Astra Pro seems to have a good solution for that) but how about post and archive layouts?
Or is this a future enhancement to Astra Pro that you are think will be put in place that can be used for post and page layouts?
– Peter
Astra is 100% compatible with Beaver Themer. I use Astra on this site and I extensively use Beaver Themer. In fact, this post is done with Beaver Themer.
Hi Adam,
Great video! Can you explain a bit more how you create your blog post layout?
I’m specifically interested in the floating header that contains the table of contents for the page. Is that done with Astra or Beaver Themer? Is setup for each post individually, or can you apply the header to specific posts with common layouts?
I also like the floating video player and would like to know more about that.
Thanks so much! 🙂
Jon
This is done with Beaver Builder but you could just as easily do it with Elementor. The floating video is a plugin name Sticky Video.
Hello Adam,
Could you clarify for me how Beaver Themer fits with Astra Pro? I already have the BB Theme and Beaver Themer. I like the page-specific headers and footers I can create in Beaver Themer. Is there an equivalent function in Astra Pro? And/or can Themer be used with Astra Pro? Thanks for your insights.
PS. Might I recommend you add a favicon for your site? It helps us 20-tabs-open folks.
First, yes I need a favicon. I am going through a rebranding process right now, so that will come very soon.
Now to answer your question, there is a ton of overlap with Astra and Themer. You can do much of what you can do with Beaver Themer in Astra, minus the global page templates. As far as the header and footer’s, yes this can be easily done with Astra Pro.
Hi Adam,
Is the Avada Theme a contender against Astra for use with Elementor?
Elementor created this page and video promoting Avada: https://elementor.com/avada-with-elementor/
What are your thoughts? Which has the edge?
I would never use Avada, and never recommend it. The only reason they made that post and the video along with it is because people were asking. In fact the video was posted in the Avada Facebook group and the Avada admins deleted the video and kicked the Elementor users out of the Facebook group. It’s just a very slow, crappy theme, unfortunately.
Hi great review!
I have a question, Astra seems nice and all, but does astra is eCommerce ready? I am re-designing my website, i have always used avada but is slow now, i need a faster but cleaner theme. I run eCommerce subscriptions and i can’t find a demo or a response on weather Astra is eCommerce ready or not.
Also why you think Astra is better than Ocean Theme?
I am searching the best option to switch (ill get the pro or extension versions of 1 of those themes, once i have decide).
So Astra is a lot better than OceanWP. But for WooCommerce, Astra is not there just yet. They are working on an extension to give you complete control of WooCommerce, but it’s not available just yet.
Would astra be suitable for an ecommerce site? And any suggestions on a work around for the side bars? I tend to use them on my blog portions.
Only found your site a few days ago, dam you’ve got some good information!
Yes it will be great for ecomm, and they recently released a custom sidebar plugin named Lightweight Sidebar Manager
Hey Adam,
What do you prefer: Astra Lightweight Sidebar Manager or Thrive Themes Clever Widgets?
Thanks for all your high quality content.
Kleber
The Astra one is free. Both will get little to no updates or improvements though.
When are you coming out with an Astra Theme Tutorial? Also, please let us know if a users group will be forming anytime soon for Astra.
Hey David, there is a Facebook already for Astra. My full site setup should be out Monday morning and it will cover many topics, including SEO.
Hi
Is this theme faster than Generate Press by nature?
Would it’s basic functionality ( or with pro add on) necessarily demand a page builder?
Does it have the option ( like generate Press) for homepage with Left And Right Sidebars?
How would ads and Adsense banners be adopted for use in this theme?
Thanks
Howard
It is faster than all themes, I have test this myself. You can use it without a page builder if you wanted. It doesn’t have a left and right sidebar option. Regarding ads, you can use any ads plugin to manage that for you. Or you can place ads manually in the various hook locations.
Hi Adam, very informative video, thanks! Just a quick question, have you been able create your own child theme for use with Astra? I always generate a child theme to add in my own functions (occasionally), but mostly to add in my own styling with css. Thanks.
They have a child theme generator on their website.
If you were using the Beaver Builder plugin, would you use ASTRA or the Beaver Builder Theme? Also, do you know which one is faster? Thanks, Adam!
I would 100% use Astra because it will be less expensive and it will have much more features. I have always felt that the Beaver Builder theme was sorta the “red-headed stepchild” for Beaver Builder. For example, you can’t get a transparent header without also having Beaver Themer.
What if you have a Beaver Themer and a full package of Beaver Builder add-ons? Would you still suggest Astra or Beaver Theme + Beaver Builder with add-ons is better? I’m not much of a coder so looking for a framework + page builder that allows me to build marketing sites/pages quick. Thanks for your review!
Right now I think the Astra Theme has the edge above all other themes for WordPress where you would want to use a page builder. It is also less expensive then the Beaver Builder theme.
I have generatePress on my 2
Sites and like it a lot. It appears to be a close competitor to astra. However I am now concerned about ada compliance issues. Is astra am ada compliant theme!
I love your videos and you have tremendous credibility.
Both themes should be ADA Compliant for as much as a theme can do which mostly is related to tab navigation of the menus. All that goes out the window as you start adding plugins and media to your website.