One of the most important decisions developers in WordPress have to make is choosing the theme for their website. A theme is a collection of files like stylesheets and templates that work together to define the appearance and design of a WordPress website. There is a wide range of themes that you can choose to create your website. However, over the last couple of years, some themes have stood head and shoulders above the rest and one theme that has really made an impression among the WordPress community is Astra.
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the factors that have made Astra so popular among developers and why it is one of the best themes to use with Elementor. Elementor is one of the most popular WordPress page builders and choosing the right theme to work with this tool is really essential.
By the end of this post, you should clearly understand what Astra is, what it offers, why you should definitely use it when working with Elementor, and much more.
The Astra Theme
Astra offers developers the fastest, most lightweight, and most highly customizable WordPress theme. Some of the advantages Astra offers include:
- Pre-Built Websites – Astra reduces the time you need to create websites by providing you with pixel-perfect and ready-to-use website demos from a library of starter templates.
- Full Customization Without Code – You can create any website of your choice without writing a single line of code! You can use the WordPress customizer which offers you a wide range of options.
- Made to work for page builders – Astra gives you the flexibility to work with a wide range of WordPress page builders including Elementor. You can create full-width pages with complete design freedom.
- Top-notch Performance – The Astra theme offers users super-fast performance. Astra theme is lightweight which means it is fast and offers unmatched performance.
Astra Full Customization
Astra gives you the freedom to completely customize every part of your website and make it look exactly how you want it to while using Astra’s visual theme customizer.
Some of the customization features offered by Astra include:
- Layout Settings – This feature enables developers to manage the full layout of their websites. You can manage the layout of the website container, header, blog, archives, single pages, posts, sidebar, and footer.
- Color and Typography – You can use the customizer to set your fonts and colors easily and integrate the best fonts and colors with your brand.
- Header Options – Astra offers several in-built header layouts. Astra Pro offers even more options to take your website to the next level.
- Blog and Archives – With Astra, you can control the design of your blog posts and archive pages with plenty of options available in the customizer.
Astra Theme For Elementor
Elementor has grown over the years to become the most popular WordPress page builder. When working with page builders, one of the most crucial decisions you have to make is choosing the right theme for your website as themes could make or break your website. The Astra theme is made to work seamlessly with Elementor offering developers endless customization.
Some of the reasons that make Astra Theme work seamlessly with Elementor include:
- Elementor Pro 3.0 Compatible – Astra is fully compatible with Elementor 3.0 Theme Builder. Using Astra and Elementor 3.0 Theme Builder, you can literally design each and every aspect of your website such as header, blog templates, footer, etc.
- Smart Elementor Integration – When you use Astra with Elementor, Astra recognizes that you are building a page with Elementor and automatically sets the options that are best for Elementor thus saving unnecessary clicks and time!
- Full Width / Stretched Layout – Astar comes with a Full Width / Stretched Layout made especially for Elementor. With this layout, Elmenetor gets edge-to-edge control of your layout.
- Disable Title / Featured Image / Sidebar – With Astra, you can disable the Page Title, Featured Image, Sidebar, Breadcrumb, and other data easily and get full freedom to design with Elementor. You can even disable the header and footer of Astra and let Elementor take full control of the page!
- Global Options From Customizer – When building websites with Elementor, Astar global options give you the convenience to set the required layout, sidebar, and other settings that are suitable for Elementor right in the Customizer.
- Header and Footer Options – Astra enables you to build 30+ types of headers and 10+ kinds of footers easily. You can even make your header transparent or sticky if you want to.
- Mobile Header Options – Astra comes with a complete solution for a mobile responsive menu with easy settings in the customizer that you can use to control and design beautiful mobile menus.
Handy Layout Options
Astra gives developers the freedom to work with any layout option they wish to use in their website. The layouts offered by Astra are made to fit any kind of website from blogs to eCommerce websites.
Ready Made Websites and Templates
Astra comes with a huge library of ready-made websites and templates that can be used with Elementor page builder.
Developers can simply import them for free by using the Astra Starter Site plugin.
Astra offers a wide variety of pre-made websites and templates across a wide range of industries such as eCommerce, restaurants, medicine, construction, and many more.
WooCommerce Integration
Astra offers WooCommerce themes that are fast, highly customizable, and super clean that are designed to convert better and boost your store’s sales.
You can easily integrate your Astra theme with Elementor and create a high-performing WooCommerce store within minutes. The Astra theme features clean. performance-optimized code that ensures your store’s load times never get in the way of a sale. You can easily customize the smallest details about your store. Astra also ensures that your theme is secure and integrated well with the huge ecosystem of WooCommerce.
Some of the WooCommerce features that make Astra unique include:
- Grid Settings
- Infinite Scroll
- Off-Canvas Sidebar
- Dedicated Sidebar
- Gallery Options
- Dropdown Cart
- Quick View
- Widget Optimized
- Color Variations
- Product Catalog
- Checkout Options
Astra Header and Footer Builder
With Astra, you can create stunning headers and footers with an intuitive drag-and-drop Header and Footer builder. The builder lets you fetch the elements you need and manage the styling of your website.
The benefits of using the Header and Footer Builder include:
- Drag and Drop Technique – You can simply drag and drop elements and design your preferred website’s header and footer.
- Live Editing – You get a live preview of your header and footer while you build and design your website.
- Advanced Styling Options – Astra offers plenty of style options you can choose from to create the header or footer of your liking.
Astra Pro
Apart from the free Astra theme, Astra also offers Astra Pro which is an add-on that enhances the capabilities of Astra. This means you get advanced add-ons and customization options to create even more beautiful websites.
Some of the features offered in Astra Pro include:
- Hooks and Filter
- Blog Layouts
- Transparent Header
- Mega Menu
- Custom layouts
- Header Section
- Page Headers
- WooCommerce Designer
- Spacing Control
- White Label
- Better Typography
Astra Pro also enables integrations with different types of add-ons such as LifterLMS, which lets you host the best online learning experience for students accessing your website and LearnDash integration which lets you design and create beautiful websites for offering online courses.
Astra Pro Pricing
Astra Pro costs $47 annually. There is also the lifetime package that costs $249. Astra offers two more pricing plans and is the Essential Bundle and the Growth Bundle.
The Essential Bundle includes all the features in the Astra Pro plan, 150+ Agency Starter Templates, WP Portfolio plugin, and the choice of one-page builder addon that includes Ultimate Addons for Elementor and Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder. The Mini Agency Bundle costs $169 annually and $499 for the lifetime package.
The Growth Bundle includes all the features from the Astra Pro and Mini Agency Bundle plans as well as more features such as the Convert Pro plugin, Schema Pro plugin, SkillJet Academy, and future plugins. The Growth Bundle costs $249 annually and $699 for the lifetime package.
Conclusion
There is no doubt as of now as to why Astra has one of the most popular WordPress themes. Not only does it offer the best features and templates, but is also compatible with other technologies like Elementor page builder and WooCommerce. Developers who choose to work with this theme will no doubt enjoy the creative process and have the opportunity to create the websites of their dreams.
If you do decide to go with Astra as your main WordPress theme, you will no doubt have one of the best technologies in WordPress today.
To get started with Astra today, click here!
To get Elementor as your page builder, you can get started here!
