Astra is a free WordPress theme focused on speed. Optionally, you can purchase the Pro version for $59, which adds a number of extra settings and options.
What is Astra theme?
What is Astra theme? Astra is a beautiful WordPress theme that can be used for portfolios, blogs, businesses, online shops and many more possibilities.
The free version is used on more than 600,000 websites and offers excellent support for WordPress page builders, allowing you to customise your entire website via the WordPress customiser.
With Astra, you can import dozens of high-quality demos. Within a few clicks, you will have a very high-quality website live. All you need to do then is customise it to your own taste.
You can extend the functionality by upgrading to the Pro version of the theme, but there are plenty of features available completely free of charge.
In this article, I will show you why Astra is so popular and what the advantage of Astra Pro is compared to the free version.
Astra theme review
- Ease of use: 96%
- Cost: 70%
- Support: 80%
- WP Agency rating: 95%
The company behind Astra
Astra was developed by Brainstorm Force, a WordPress development company that has been active for more than ten years and employs over 60 people.
It is no surprise that Astra works 100% with page builders such as Elementor and Beaver Builder. The company Brainstorm Force is also behind the popular Ultimate Add-ons for Beaver Builder and Ultimate Add-ons for Elementor plugin extensions.
Last year, Brainstorm Force added a new gem to their product range: Convert Pro. With Convert Pro, you can set up a campaign to generate new leads with your WordPress website within minutes.
Brainstorm Force is very active within the WordPress community. They regularly attend WordCamps from around the world and their free WordPress plugins are regularly updated.
Built for page builders
Astra was built from the ground up with page builder compatibility in mind. Most starter sites are built with Elementor or Beaver Builder, two of the most popular page builders. Brainstorm Force also contributes to Beaver Builder itself.
Powerful starter sites
The Astra theme comes with an accompanying plugin called Astra Starter Sites. After the theme is installed and activated, you have access to more than a hundred pre-built website templates, most of which are free.
These templates are fully functional sites with all the essential pages, plugins and features bundled into one package.
Extensive customisation features and options
In addition to the starter sites, the extensive customisation options that Astra offers in both the free and premium version have received much praise from hundreds of thousands of users.
In the Pro version, the extensive customisation options cover almost every element of your website. You can change the background colour, set custom typography and alter the site layout of every part of your website.
Since the latest version of Astra, the BrainStorm Force team has completely overhauled the template code to make it simpler to design and customise your website.
Performance
According to the product developers, the size of Astra is less than 50 KB, making it super fast. They claim it loads in just 0.5 seconds with standard WordPress content.
We tested the website ourselves on a shared server in Amsterdam. We tested using Pingdom Tools. We achieved an impressive loading time of 0.7 seconds.
Pro version
With the Pro version of Astra, you can take the theme customisation options to the next level. With Pro, you get access to all modules.
At the time of writing, the following PRO modules are available:
- Colors & Background
- Typography
- Spacing
- Blog Pro
- Mobile Header
- Header Sections
- Nav Menu
- Sticky Header
- Page Headers
- Custom Layouts
- Site Layouts
- Footer Widgets
- Scroll To Top
- WooCommerce
- Easy Digital Downloads
- LearnDash
- LifterLMS
- White Label
Each module can be activated individually.
Some require prerequisite plugins to be activated first before you can enable them, such as WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, LearnDash and LifterLMS modules.
Conclusion
Astra is without doubt one of the best free WordPress themes available.
With the theme, you can easily import dozens of professional-looking website designs and there is a good selection of free plugins that extend its functionality.
I am sure that most users will appreciate that all options are also part of the WordPress theme customiser, as it makes customisation simpler.
Despite the free version being solid, I believe that most WordPress users who use Astra on a live website will eventually upgrade to Astra Pro.
From just $59 per year, it offers premium support and hundreds of new styling and layout options. Those who select an agency package can also use the starter site website designs marked as ‘Agency’ and download other premium Brainstorm Force plugins.
Note: if you would like to see some examples of sites that actually use Astra, here is an excellent showcase:
About the author
Leon
Founder and WordPress Developer
Leon Katz founded WP Agency driven by his passion for WordPress and web development. With over 20 years of experience in the technical sector, he helps…
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