In the middle of choosing a theme for your next website? Don't choose a theme just by its looks. The theme does affect your working on it. A theme must fit your designing style so that you can create a website easily the way you want. If you are the one who loves using page builder plugins to create websites, then you will come to themes like Divi, GeneratePress, Astra, and OceanWP. We will give you Astra vs Generatepress, OceanWP and Genesis comparison in this post.
Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP vs Genesis
Astra, Generatepress, and OceanWP are those few themes which are compatible with all major page builder plugins for WordPress. Each of these themes is best for building websites using page builders. One thing similar in all these is, they all are having almost same features but performance is different. Still, choosing one of these will be easier for you after reading this Astra vs Generatepress, OceanWP and Genesis comparison.
If you want to know about Astra theme in detail then you can read our detailed Astra theme review. In this comprehensive comparison, we will be comparing Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP vs Genesis. We'll look at their features, pricing, ease of use and installation, customer support, add-ons, usability, page builders compatibility, and a few more factors. So, by the end of this comparison, you will be having a theme which fits your purpose.
So, let's start with it.
Why You Need a Page Builder Compatible Theme?
WordPress offers an in-built streamline classic editor and has recently released Gutenberg editor. These editors are pretty easy to use and create a website with. But, these editors are not that advanced and lacks a lot of advanced and required features to build websites. These default editors are focused on blogs, so when you are going to build a website, you need to use 3rd party page builders for WordPress. These outside page builders allow you to create dynamic and advanced websites using drag and drop functions with pre-included modules.
Page builders are generally made to work with any theme without problems. But, during the development, theme developers must take care of the compatibility of their themes with page builders. In order to make your website good, your theme must comply with the page builder you are using.
There is a lot of themes which claims to be compatible with all the major page builders. During our testing, we gone through multiple themes and found out these 4 themes about which we are talking in this article. Astra, GeneratePress, OceanWP, and Genesis are truly page builder compatible themes. So, now let's have a look at these 4 themes and which one performs best out of these.
About These Themes - Quick Introduction
Themes which we will be comparing are Astra, GeneratePress, Genesis, and OceanWP. These 4 are widely used and highly rated WordPress themes which are capable of fulfilling multiple purposes. Also, these are the themes which are compatible with almost all page builders and all the major page builder as shown in the image below.
There is no need to have coding knowledge to work with Astra theme. Along with being a non-coders friendly theme, Astra offers a wide range of add-ons and modules to make a professional website. You will not be feeling any lack in your website by using Astra theme.
OceanWP WordPress Theme
OceanWP is capable of creating websites for various uses and purposes. You can create corporate, business and e-commerce websites with the help of OceanWP WordPress theme.
GeneratePress WordPress Theme
Genesis Framework for WordPress
So, these 3 remaining themes are having a lot to offer. Now let's compare these themes on different points and factors. Here we go........
Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP
So, here we are starting with the comparison. This comparison is based on our practical test. We are no way paid to write this comparison and it is 100% genuine. The claims in this test are completely true and performed during the test of these themes.
Features & Speed in Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP
Generally, all the three themes come with all major and essential features. All of the themes are completely responsive and gives a high-grade performance. SEO friendliness is really good with all these themes.
Features of all these themes are almost same but comparatively, Astra and oceanwp provide better element options. So, rankings as per features will be:
Page Builder Compatibility
Astra: Among all these three themes, Astra is the one who was designed from the beginning to work with page builders without problems. Astra works really well with major page builders like Elementor, Visual Composer, Divi Builder, Beaver Builder, Siteorigin, Thrive Architect and many more. Also, it allows you to turn off page titles on specific pages on your website. With Astra, you can easily focus on the design of your website. Agency bundle of astra theme comes with Dedicated addons for elementor and beaver builder which makes creating a website with these page builders so much fun. Also, it adds a lot of functionality with these page builders.
GeneratePress: Well, generatepress is the least performing theme when we talk about compatibility with page builders. They claim that generatepress is compatible with all the major page builders, well yes it is compatible. But, performance is not good with all the page builders. It performed decently during our test. So, from this factor, generatepress isn't the best one.
OceanWP: It performs better than GP. As the claims, it performed well with Visual Composer, Beaver Builder, Elementor, Divi Builder and Siteorigin. Though performance with elementor was best on oceanwp. Also, when you go for a premium version of oceanwp, you will get some dedicated add-ons for elementor plugin which makes working better with elementor using OceanWP.
So, in this page builder compatibility comparison of Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP, here are the rankings:
Setup, Installation and Usage
During our review, we've installed premium versions of these themes. We installed it on localhost using MAMP server. If you want to know how to install WordPress on localhost then you can read this tutorial here. We will be telling you in brief about the installation of these themes and then we'll move on setting them up in order to use them for creating a website.
Here, Astra is the simplest and easiest theme to install. You will get a zip package which you can easily upload to the website using WP panel or through FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
Talking about OceanWP, it first requires you to have the free version of the oceanwp theme installed. After that, you will get a premium plugin from oceanwp which you need to install in your website. This plugin adds extensions and features to the free theme and doesn't change any front looks of the theme. This means, you will be getting different plugins for different purposes and you need to install all of the themes in your wp-admin panel.
Creating Basic Website with Astra WordPress Theme
Firstly you need to install the Astra theme package given inside the package you purchased. Then install Astra starter sites from your package or WordPress directory. Now you need to enter an activation code to activate Astra theme premium version.
So, as the theme is activated now, you need to go to Appearance >> Astra Sites. There you will be able to see demo sites which you can directly import and create a website in minutes. This is how the demo panel will look:
While choosing demo, you need to choose which builder you are using, Elementor or Beaver Builder. These demos can easily be installed with just a click. Demo sites in Astra are really impressive and for an agency, it can work like a charm. Astra is widely used by agencies worldwide. Here is an example of a website imported from Astra sites:
How to Configure Astra Theme?
In order to configure Astra theme options, you need to go to Appearance >> Astra Options :
Here from Astra options, you can change settings as shown in the image above. It will take you to WordPress customizer where you will see various options to change settings. So, here is what are the options you are getting in customizer:
organization of these options is better in Astra theme as compared to OceanWP. Astra is easy to set up and configure. You can start with it right away.
Creating Basic Website with OceanWP WordPress Theme
OceanWP also offers a wide range of websites demos which can be imported to your WordPress website. You just need to install their demo import plugin which is available in the package you bought from oceanwp. You need to go to Theme Panel >> Install Demos to see demo sites. Comparatively, OceanWP offers very fewer demo sites than Astra. Here are how demo import panel looks like:
Well, OceanWP uses a lot of plugins. You need to install a specific plugin for every function. So, this may make your website take more time in loading. Below we have given a screenshot of a website made by importing a demo from OceanWP demo sites:
All the demos in OceanWP are really professional and can be used to create websites within hours. You just need to change images and content.
OceanWP has made a very easy to use theme panel which is able to handle all the theme designing tasks. It will take you to the WordPress customizer where you can make changes in real-time with ease. Below is a screenshot about how theme panel looks:
OceanWP is organized really well and new users will find it easy to create websites.
Creating Basic Website with GeneratePress WordPress Theme
In this Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP comparison, GeneratePress is the only one which doesn't offer pre-built sites or demo sites. After installing the theme, you need to go to Appearance >> GeneratePress, there you can choose modules which you want to modify. Here is how the 1st installation of generatepress looks like:
GeneratePress's theme options are easiest to configure and very organized. Each of the modules will take you to WordPress customizer where you can easily make changes. Generatepress doesn't offer any pre-built or demo sites, so you have to make it from scratch. Generatepress is easiest to set up.
So, accordingly here we are going to rank these themes on two bases, One is ease of setup and second is the availability of demo content for quick website creation. Here are rankings:
Overall, Astra will be our preference because of the variety of demo options and other factors as mentioned on this page.
Design and Layouts Options
A theme must provide layout and design options to attract more and more users. More design options and layout options are always good. Also, a person who is looking to create a website will always prefer a theme with a better layout and design options. So, let's see how Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP performs with these design and layout options.
It offers you a dedicated site layout module which lets you create custom layouts for your website easily. Using this site layout module, you can easily make changes to the layout of your website. Along with site layout module, there are various controls given which lets you make changes to the header, footer, sidebars, backgrounds, and more options.
This theme offers different plugins for different portfolios, popups, header, footer, sidebar, and more options. Your website is completely in your control. Still, OceanWP offers fewer design options as compared to Astra.
GeneratePress: Design and layout options in generatepress and oceanwp are almost the same. OceanWP required extensions for different options where generatepress already have a panel from where different customizations can be made. These options are capable of making all small and big tweaks on your website.
All 3 themes are having enough and attractive design and layout options. None of these disappoints. But, comparatively, Astra is giving little more designing options. So, here are the rankings below:
Plugins, Addons & Extensions
All these 3 themes offer some extra plugins and extensions which are used to add more functionality to the theme. So, we are going to talk about it in depth. Here we go...
Firstly talking about Astra , it doesn't provide everything in its base premium plan. Still, features of their basic plan are at the level of OceanWP and GeneratePress's standard plans. Astra is also a bit pricey but worth it. Astra's agency bundle offers a lot of advanced functionalities like Call to action plugin, schema markup plugin, portfolio plugin, and specific add-ons for Elementor and Beaver Builder page builder plugins for WordPress. So, this is why Astra worth it all.
Its premium plan comes with all the extensions they are offering. You can have a look at their extensions here. Also, there are extensions which provide social share buttons, popups, hooks for developers and a lot more. White label option is also given which is really helpful for agencies.
GeneratePress: GP also includes all the features in their 1 premium plan. Features of GeneratePress and OceanWP are very similar. There are some handy features given along with them generatepress is more focused on the design part of the website. There is one extra module given for extra WooCommerce options.
So in this Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP, there are two factors, one is quality and other is the price. So, below are the rankings based on both the factors. Also, while talking about quality, Astra is a clear winner but so the price is also high. Well, the price is not the factor when you are using it to build businesses for making further revenue, it's not that high. Here are the rankings:
Customer Support and Theme Documentation
It doesn't matter how easy is the theme which you are using. You will definitely get to a point where you will be needing expert support. So, it's always important to have your product covered with support from the company who is selling it.
So, all these 3 themes come with a standard 1-year support and updates. Also, the ticket system is the primary method of support in all the themes. Astra, as well as generatpress, offers forum access to discuss and get your doubts cleared. Here, OceanWP doesn't offer priority support, you can buy it for a fee of $29 to $99 for 1 year. Also, all the themes are having a well created and helpful documentation. Still, the documentation of Astra theme is much better written and comprehensive with offering a lot of articles and tutorials for almost every purpose. Documentation of OceanWP and Generatepress is not that comprehensive but it covers all the important and frequent topics.
So, for this Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP, here are our rankings:
Still, getting help for any of these themes is not hard but a well-written documentation and priority support is always helpful.
After comparing all the major points, the final point is to discuss how much these themes are going to cost you?. Pricing is a small but still considerable option, especially for those who don't have a decent budget.
GeneratePress Pricing & Plans
Astra Theme Pricing & Plans
Astra is also offering three different plans. Including their free plan, there will be 4 plans. You are getting all Astra theme features, unlimited site license in all plans along with premium support. Their other plans are for freelancers and agencies. Their agency plan will get you several more plugins with it which are sufficient for an agency who is into building websites for their clients. You won't feel any lacking thing in their agency plan.
So, as per the pricing, here are the rankings:
Conclusion: Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP
While choosing the best theme for your website, don't be in rush. It is a very important decision. You must make sure that what do you want from the theme and which page builder you are going to use. This will help you a lot in choosing the best theme for your business.
In this Astra vs GeneratePress vs OceanWP vs Genesis comparison review, we have compared three of themes by eliminating genesis in starting of this comparison. So, now finally concluding it in a brief. Here is the conclusion and rankings:
- Astra: This is the theme which won this comparison review. Astra offers loads of features, excellent performance, and compatibility with all major page builder plugins for WordPress. Along with these, Astra offers the widest library of demo sites. So, from us, Astra is the theme you should go for.
- GeneratePress: It is a lightweight, easy-to-setup and easy-to-use theme. Also, generatepress is priced really well. Biggest lack with generatepress is that it is not giving any demo content to the users. Also, generatepress is the most affordable theme out of the 3 we are talking about.
- OceanWP: It offers a lot of options but on the other hand, setting up is quite complicated and you need to use a lot of plugins which can slow down your website. Unlike generatepress, it offers a library of demo sites but still not wide as Astra's demo sites library.
Don't forget to tell us in comments if you are having any doubt or questions. Also, do let us know if you liked this article...... Appreciation always makes us happy...
