Astra Theme Review 2024: Is It the Best Lightweight WordPress Theme?

In the world of WordPress themes, Astra has carved out a name for itself as one of the most popular, lightweight, and versatile options available.

With over 1.6 million active installs and thousands of five-star ratings, the Astra theme continues to be a favorite among developers, designers, and website owners alike. But as the digital landscape evolves, how does Astra hold up in 2024?

In this comprehensive Astra Theme Review, we’ll dive into its features, performance, customization options, pricing, and more.

Whether you’re a beginner creating your first website or a seasoned web developer, this review will help you determine if Astra is the right choice for your WordPress site in 2024.

1. What is Astra Theme?

Astra is a highly popular WordPress theme developed by Brainstorm Force that focuses on speed, performance, and customization.

Launched in 2017, it has quickly become one of the go-to themes for website owners, bloggers, and businesses due to its lightweight design and compatibility with various page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Gutenberg.

The theme core version is free, but for users looking for more advanced features, the developers offer the Astra Pro Add-On.

This premium add-on unlocks a range of customization options and functionalities that make Astra suitable for almost any type of website, from personal blogs to e-commerce stores and corporate websites.

2. Key Features of Astra Theme

Astra offers a wide range of features that make it stand out from other WordPress themes. Below, we’ll explore the core features that make Astra a popular choice.

Lightweight and Performance Oriented

One of Astra biggest selling points is its lightweight nature. It is designed with clean code, which ensures fast load times and optimal performance.

The Astra theme by default is less than 50 KB, making it much smaller than most WordPress themes. As a result, your website will load quickly, providing a better user experience and helping with SEO rankings.

• No jQuery: Astra uses vanilla JavaScript instead of jQuery, which minimizes the chance of render-blocking issues and improves site speed.
• Optimized for Performance: With its minimal footprint, Astra is optimized to load in under half a second.

SEO and Schema-Optimized

Astra is built with SEO in mind, ensuring your website is easily discoverable by search engines. It comes with schema markup, which helps search engines better understand your content, increasing the chances of appearing in rich snippets.

• Optimized for SEO: Astra follows best SEO practices with clean code, fast performance, and support for essential SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math.
• Native Schema Support: Built-in schema markup enhances your site visibility in search results, helping search engines index your content correctly.

Customization Flexibility

Customization is where Astra truly shines. Whether you’re a novice or an expert, Astra offers an array of customization options through the WordPress Customizer. You can easily modify headers, footers, colors, typography, and layout options without needing any coding skills.

• Real-Time Customization: Make changes to your website design and see them live using the WordPress Customizer.
• Custom Layouts: Astra allows you to create custom layouts for your blog, archives, posts, and pages with ease.

Pre-Built Starter Templates

Astra offers a massive library of Starter Templates pre-designed, ready to import website templates. These templates cater to different niches, such as business websites, blogs, portfolios, online stores, and more. Users can import a template with a single click and then customize it to fit their brand.

• Over 180+ Starter Templates: Astra offers templates for industries like fashion, tech, education, and more.
• Page Builder Compatibility: These templates are compatible with popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Gutenberg.

WooCommerce Compatibility

If you’re running an e-commerce site, Astra has you covered. The theme integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce, providing options to customize your product pages, checkout pages, and more. Astra WooCommerce features ensure that your online store looks great, loads fast, and converts visitors into customers.

• Dedicated WooCommerce Features: Astra Pro offers advanced features like distraction-free checkout, product gallery styles, and grid layouts for your shop.

Gutenberg and Page Builder Support

Astra is fully compatible with the WordPress Gutenberg editor and works seamlessly with all major page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and more. This makes Astra highly versatile, whether you’re using the native WordPress editor or a third-party page builder to design your site.

• Full Gutenberg Compatibility: Astra takes full advantage of the Gutenberg block editor, offering block templates and enhanced block design options.

3. Astra Theme Performance: Speed and Optimization

Astra lightweight structure ensures that it is one of the fastest-loading WordPress themes available. Here is a closer look at why Astra excels in performance:

• Minimal HTTP Requests: Astra minimal design reduces the number of HTTP requests, which speeds up the loading time of your website.
• Performance-First Development: Astra has been developed with performance in mind, meaning your site will load faster and provide a smooth user experience.
• Fast Loading Times: Independent tests show that Astra sites load in less than 0.5 seconds with basic optimization techniques.

PageSpeed Insights and GTMetrix both show impressive scores for Astra-based websites, confirming its speed optimization.

4. Astra Theme Customization Options

One of Astra strongest selling points is the sheer number of customization options it provides, especially through the WordPress Customizer.

WordPress Customizer Integration

Astra integrates deeply with the WordPress Customizer, allowing you to:

• Customize your site layout: Choose between boxed, full-width, or fluid layouts.
• Modify typography settings: Choose from hundreds of Google Fonts and adjust the font size, line height, and more.
• Customize header and footer layouts: Astra offers built-in header and footer layouts, with options for transparency, sticky headers, and more.

Astra Pro Add-On

For those who need more advanced customization options, the Astra Pro Add-On unlocks additional features. Astra Pro includes:

• Advanced Header and Footer Options: Customize sticky headers, transparent headers, and footer widgets.
• White Labeling: Perfect for developers or agencies who want to rebrand Astra as their own.
• More Layout Options: Astra Pro offers advanced layout options for blogs, archives, single posts, and more.

Custom Layouts and Headers

Astra Pro allows you to create custom headers and footers, as well as custom layouts for your blog posts, pages, and archives. You can even design custom 404 pages, product pages, and WooCommerce pages.

5. Astra for WooCommerce: Is It a Good Choice for Online Stores?

Astra is a powerful theme for WooCommerce-based e-commerce websites. It’s designed to help you create a fast-loading, conversion-optimized store with minimal effort.

Key WooCommerce Features:

• Quick View Option: Allow users to quickly view product details without leaving the shop page.
• Infinite Scroll: Improve user experience by loading more products as the user scrolls down.
• Customizable Checkout: Create a distraction-free checkout page, increasing the chances of conversions.
• Product Catalog Grid: Customize the number of products per row and control grid layouts.

With Astra WooCommerce integration, you can create a professional, feature-rich online store with minimal customization.

6. Astra Theme SEO: Optimizing Your Website for Search Engines

Astra is built with SEO best practices in mind, making it easier for your website to rank higher on search engines. Here is how Astra helps with SEO:

• Clean Code: Astra follows clean coding standards, which helps improve page speed and readability for search engines.
• Schema Markup: Astra comes with built-in schema support, helping search engines better understand your website content.
• Responsive Design: Astra is fully responsive and mobile-friendly, ensuring your site looks great on any device, which is important for Google mobile-first indexing.

Additionally, Astra integrates well with top SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math, providing further optimization options.

7. Astra Theme vs Other Popular Themes (GeneratePress, OceanWP, Divi)

Astra is often compared to other popular WordPress themes such as GeneratePress, OceanWP, and Divi. Here’s how Astra stacks up:

Astra vs GeneratePress

• Speed: Both Astra and GeneratePress are known for their speed and lightweight design. However, Astra offers more pre-built starter templates compared to GeneratePress.
• Customization: Astra provides more built-in customization options through the WordPress Customizer, whereas GeneratePress relies more on third-party page builders.

Astra vs OceanWP

• Performance: Astra edges out OceanWP in terms of speed, as it’s lighter and optimized for performance.
• WooCommerce: Both themes are WooCommerce-friendly, but Astra offers slightly more advanced e-commerce features.

Astra vs Divi

• Ease of Use: Divi is a feature-rich theme that includes its own page builder. However, it can be more challenging for beginners compared to Astra, which integrates easily with third-party page builders.
• Speed: Astra is considerably faster than Divi, which is often criticized for being resource-heavy.

8. Pros and Cons of Astra Theme

Pros:

• Incredibly lightweight and optimized for speed.
• Free version available, with robust features.
• Highly customizable through the WordPress Customizer.
• Large library of pre-built templates to get started quickly.
• Fully compatible with major page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder.
• Excellent WooCommerce support for e-commerce sites.
• SEO-friendly with built-in schema support.

Cons:

• Some advanced customization features require the Astra Pro Add-On.
• Limited design control for free users without third-party page builders.
• Some users may find the free version options too basic for complex sites.

9. Astra Theme Pricing: Free vs Pro

Astra is available in both free and premium (Pro) versions. The free version offers plenty of customization options, making it ideal for users who want to build a basic site. However, to unlock more advanced features, you can upgrade to Astra Pro.

Astra Pro Pricing (2024):

• Astra Pro: $59/year or a one-time payment of $299 (lifetime access).
• Mini Agency Bundle: $169/year, includes Astra Pro and access to the Starter Templates and page builder add-ons.
• Agency Bundle: $249/year, includes all features of Astra Pro, additional plugins like Schema Pro and Convert Pro, plus access to premium templates and tools.

10. Astra Theme Customer Support and Documentation

Astra offers excellent support through its knowledge base, video tutorials, and dedicated customer support team. Users of the free version can access community support through the WordPress forums, while Astra Pro users receive priority support via email.

Additionally, Astra documentation is detailed, with step-by-step guides to help users with installation, customization, and troubleshooting.

11. Best Practices for Using Astra Theme

To get the most out of Astra, follow these best practices:

• Use Astra Pro for advanced customization options, including layout control, sticky headers, and more.
• Leverage Starter Templates to speed up the website-building process.
• Install a caching plugin and optimize images to ensure fast load times, as Astra performs best with optimized media files.
• Regularly update Astra and its plugins to ensure compatibility with the latest WordPress versions.

12. Q&A

1. Is Astra good for beginners?

Yes, Astra is incredibly beginner-friendly. Its integration with the WordPress Customizer makes it easy to design and customize without needing coding knowledge.

2. Can I use Astra with page builders like Elementor?

Yes, Astra is fully compatible with popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Gutenberg.

3. Is Astra a fast theme?

Yes, Astra is one of the fastest WordPress themes available, thanks to its lightweight design and optimized code.

4. What is Astra Pro?

Astra Pro is the premium add-on for the Astra theme, offering additional customization options, layouts, WooCommerce features, and more.

5. Does Astra support WooCommerce?

Yes, Astra is fully compatible with WooCommerce and offers advanced features to enhance your e-commerce store.

13. Conclusion: Is Astra the Best WordPress Theme for You?

In 2024, Astra remains one of the best WordPress themes available, offering a perfect balance between performance, customization, and ease of use.

Whether you’re building a blog, portfolio, or e-commerce store, Astra flexibility, speed, and compatibility with major page builders make it a top choice for web developers and beginners alike.

With its free version offering enough functionality for simple sites and Astra Pro unlocking a world of advanced features, this theme is suitable for virtually any type of website.

If you’re looking for a lightweight, SEO-friendly theme that delivers excellent performance and customization options, Astra is an excellent investment.