Frequently Asked Questions​

General Questions:

Brainstorm force is the company behind the Astra theme, Astra Pro, and many other popular WordPress plugins. Here is the link for reference – https://brainstormforce.com/products/

Astra is the ultimate FREE WordPress theme. It’s a combination of optimized code, easy to use interface and complete package to create amazing websites. A theme without flaws and built for businesses, individuals, and agencies to create websites effortlessly. Astra is highly customizable and makes it simple to create a website for every professional and personal niche.

Astra is the top theme in WordPress, with 1 million+ active installations and thousands of 5-star ratings on WordPress.org.

Astra is a free WordPress theme available on the WordPress repository. You can take a look at it here – https://wordpress.org/themes/astra/

The Astra Pro addon is a plugin that adds a range of powerful features that help you design better websites faster. You can take a look at all the pro features here – https://wpastra.com/pro/

You can also check this page explaining the differences between the Astra theme and Astra Pro – https://wpastra.com/astra-free-vs-pro/

Astra Pro is a premium addon listed for purchase here – https://wpastra.com/pricing/

We provide three packages – Astra Pro, Essential Toolkit and Business Toolkit. The difference between the three packages is the number of products you can access.

Astra Pro builds on the excellent free version of Astra by including a range of powerful design tools. The Essential Toolkit adds a premium page builder addon for Spectra or Elementor and access to our Premium Starter Templates. 

The Business Toolkit adds a selection of useful WordPress plugins and SkillJet Academy membership and some free trials of some amazing products. 

You will find a complete comparison here – https://wpastra.com/compare-pricing-plans/. If you have any questions on the packages or want to discuss which package is right for you, feel free to reach out to us here – https://wpastra.com/contact/

Astra needs PHP version 5.3 and above. But we recommend you to use PHP version 8.2.10 or greater since it is a recommendation for WordPress.

Yes, Astra and Starter Templates will work fine with all the standard hosting services that support WordPress. You can check some hosting recommendations here – https://wpastra.com/recommendations/

If you want to understand further about website hosting, this tutorial might help – https://wpastra.com/fastest-managed-wordpress-hosting/

You do not need additional plugins to create amazing websites with Astra. Using Astra and Starter Templates, you can create complete websites for almost any purpose. Here is the collection of website demos powered by Astra theme – https://wpastra.com/website-templates/

You can use external plugins if you like though. Astra is compatible with all popular plugins that follow the WordPress coding standards. Here are some recommendations – https://wpastra.com/recommendations/

You can use Astra on its own to create websites, and it does not depend on any page builder plugins. You can find a collection of demo websites made with the WordPress native block editor here.

But, we realize that page builders such as Elementor or Beaver Builder are hugely popular. That’s why we made Astra fully compatible with all popular page builder plugins.

Astra is a multipurpose WordPress theme built to play nicely with any page builder plugin. The tightest integrations are for Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and Gutenberg as Astra comes with importable demo sites built with those page builders. Ref: Website Demos

However, you can use any page builder plugin that follows the WordPress coding standard.

Billing/Purchase/Plans/Account Related Queries:

Astra Pro is a plugin that extends the free Astra theme and adds some very useful pro features.

The Essential Toolkit is a package that comprises the Astra Pro addon, Starter Templates, and the Ultimate Addons depending on the page builder you want (Elementor or Spectra).

The Business Toolkit offers readymade websites and includes all plugins used to build those sites. When you purchase the Astra Business Toolkit, you don’t need to buy anything else separately.

If you’re looking for a solid and fast theme with easy customization options, go for Astra Pro. If you want to take things a step further, need access to readymade websites and everything required to build and deliver websites fast, purchase the Astra Business Toolkit.

If you want to use a single page builder and need tools to enhance its possibilities and access ready-made website templates, purchase the Essential Toolkit.

You will find a complete comparison here – https://wpastra.com/compare-pricing-plans/

The Essential Toolkit and Business Toolkit both offer the full range of tools and plugins you need to build high performance websites. But they do have differences.

The Business Toolkit includes everything you need to build beautiful websites. It gives you access to the Astra Pro addon, page builder addons – Ultimate Addons for Spectra and Elementor and premium Starter Templates. You also get free trials of SureTriggers Pro, CartFlows Starter, ZipWP Pro and SkillJet Academy!

With the Essential Toolkit you get access to premium Starter Templates and the Ultimate Addon for the page builder of your choice (Elementor or Spectra).

You can compare the Essential Toolkit and Business Toolkit here – https://wpastra.com/pricing/

Yes, Astra and our other plugins really do offer unlimited usage! You are free to use our plugins and theme on any number of websites with whichever plan you choose.

You are free to use them on your own website, and you can also use it on customer websites if you’re designing for others. However, sharing the license key with any third party is not allowed.

No, you do not get the pro version of Elementor when you purchase a toolkit. You do get Ultimate Addons for Elementor and the pro version of Spectra though.

The free version of Elementor is sufficient to help you create amazing websites with Astra. If you want extra functionality, you could try Spectra or Ultimate Addons for Elementor (UAE) depending on the page builder you are using.

Spectra adds a selection of blocks and templates for the Gutenberg block editor. UAE does the same for Elementor.

You do not need additional plugins to create amazing websites with Astra. Using Astra and Starter Templates, you can create complete websites for almost any purpose. Here is the collection of website demos powered by Astra theme – https://wpastra.com/website-templates/

You can use external plugins if you like though. Astra is compatible with all popular plugins that follow the WordPress coding standards. Here are some recommendations – https://wpastra.com/recommendations/

We accept payments via PayPal or credit/debit cards.

All transactions are fully secure. All transactions are processed via Stripe and PayPal, both of which have their own robust security. We do not store any card details.

Any kind of payment information such as credit card or debit card data is not stored in any form by us or on any internal or external databases that are accessible to us.

Yes, you can generate an invoice and include a VAT number. After completing the purchase, you can log in to your store account and generate a customized invoice from the invoice section. You can enter the VAT number in the Invoice.

Yes, we do have a refund policy! We firmly believe in and stand behind our products 100%. But we understand that it cannot work perfectly for everyone. If you are unhappy with your purchase, or you have an issue that we are unable to resolve that makes the system unusable, we are more than happy to provide a complete refund within 14 days of your original purchase.

Also, kindly note that refunds may only be issued within 14 days of the purchase date. After 14 days no refunds can be processed.

The refunds on renewal payments can not be processed. We will send an email 2 weeks prior to your renewal date, so you can use this opportunity to cancel your subscription before the renewal payment is automatically processed.

The refund amount goes back to the original payment method used or to the user’s bank account. We do not use store credit.

We do not offer a trial version of Astra Pro or the Essential or Business Toolkits. However, we do offer a 14 day refund guarantee. After purchasing, you can use the premium features on your websites with the help of documentation and videos.

The 14-day-refund policy gives you adequate time to review the features and you have access to technical support in the meantime to answer any queries.

We offer a range of powerful free tools that make building websites faster and easier. The Astra theme is available for free on the WordPress repository. You can take a look at it here – https://wordpress.org/themes/astra/

You can also use the free Starter Templates by using the free plugin – https://wordpress.org/plugins/astra-sites/

You can check all our free plugins in the WordPress repository.

Yes, You will find a complete comparison between the plans here – https://wpastra.com/compare-pricing-plans/

We provide three packages – Astra Pro, Essential Toolkit and Business Toolkit. Other FAQ answers cover the differences in more detail or check the link above.

An annual plan allows you to use our products over a year. After that year, all the websites will remain fully functional, you won’t be able to access updates and support for them.

If you wish to continue getting updates and support, you must renew the license for the following year.

A lifetime license lets you use the product on websites with updates and support for a lifetime with a single, one-time payment. 🙂

All annual purchases come with auto-renewals as mentioned on our terms and conditions page – https://share.getcloudapp.com/v1uYND1A

We send an email four weeks before your renewal date so you can use the opportunity to cancel your subscription before the renewal payment is automatically processed.

If you want to cancel the auto-renewal, you can reach out to us.

Your website will remain fully operational even if you don’t renew your license. Renewing a license will ensure that you continue receiving plugin updates, technical support, and access to new features.

If you choose not to renew, your websites will remain as they are, and you can still use the existing widgets and features. You won’t have access to updates and technical support though. Owning an active license keeps your site up-to-date and secure.

In the case of the Essential Toolkit and Business Toolkit, you won’t be able to import premium templates to your websites once your license expires.

Split payment is only available for the Lifetime Business Toolkit plan. This payment method will allow you to make a purchase by paying just 1/3rd of the amount now and the others in 2 easy installments in the following months.

For any reason, the payments for the following months fail, the purchased license will automatically be put on hold and access will be restricted.

You will get update notifications for your plugins in your WordPress dashboard the same as any other theme or plugin. Please note you will require an active license to access the updates.

Yes, you can upgrade your existing plan. If you have an existing product with an active license, you can upgrade by paying the price difference between the two products.

Please read the further details here (which explain all the upgrade scenarios) or get in touch with us, and we will help you with the upgrade process.

Licenses will not change after an upgrade or renewal of your existing plan.

No. We do not have a downgrade option for any of our products and packages in store.

License Usage:

Yes, you can use Astra, Astra Pro, and Starter Templates to create client websites.

You can install the plugins and their licenses on the websites. However, sharing the license key with any third party is not allowed. When you install and activate a plugin on your client’s website, the license key is not displayed.

You cannot directly charge the clients any fees for Astra licenses or renewals. If you stop maintaining the client’s website, you can encourage the client to purchase their own personal license, so that they can keep getting the product updates and technical support even when you have stopped supporting their website.

When you own any of the Brainstorm Force products, you can manage the license from your store account. By logging in to your account you can check all the websites where the plugin licenses are activated. If there is a particular website where you do not want your license to be active, you can remove it from your store account.

Please refer to this documentation: How to Manage License on Store?

If you are a part of an agency, you are allowed to grant access to a few employees. In this case, you are responsible for the license as the account holder.

You are allowed to have only one account on our website. While each account is allowed to be used by a single user.

https://store.brainstormforce.com/terms-and-conditions/

To keep watch on license misuse, we have built a robust radar system which takes a log of each license activation and notifies us if it finds invalid entries that match specific criteria. Such licenses are reviewed and revoked if found to be misused.

Support:

When you purchase any package you get access to premium email support. You can subscribe to VIP Care support during checkout. VIP Care is an optional addon annual purchase, which ensures faster responses.

If you are an existing customer and would like to upgrade your support to VIP care, you can purchase the membership from here.

Generally, our support hours are Monday to Friday. But, for a VIP customer, we are here to help you during weekends too!

The default premium support assures responses within a day while VIP Care takes you to the front of the queue and makes sure your questions are answered as soon as possible.

You can find additional details on the VIP Care here: https://wpastra.com/docs/faqs-vip-care/

We are currently not able to provide customization services. Please remember that we’re providing support for our products, but we’re not providing what a web freelancer provides.

We provide one-to-one support for any issue related to our product functionality or bugs, but we are not able to provide custom work. If you need help or have questions related to custom code, just ask. Not all of the custom code is complicated, and sometimes it is just 3 – 5 lines of code, and we can help. Sometimes we also provide a reference from our research on the internet to help solve issues.

You can check our support policy here – https://store.brainstormforce.com/support-policy/

Though we would like to help, this isn’t possible as of now for us to take up custom requests. If you aim to have a creator for your website, we recommend hiring a freelancer who has experience with Astra Pro.

You can check for qualified freelancing professionals experienced with Astra at Codeable Hire Astra specialized developers who deliver only the highest quality work.

In a nutshell, don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you have related to Astra.

You have access to premium technical support only with an active license. In case you do not renew, you will not have further access to technical support and plugin updates.

Starter Templates:

Starter Templates are pre-built website demos that you can import to create a completely new website from scratch or add new pages to your existing website instantly.

The templates are fully customizable and you can add your images, texts, fonts, colors, and styles to your website. We have free and premium templates which you can check here – https://wpastra.com/website-templates/

You can use Astra and Astra Pro with Starter Templates. However, from Starter Templates 2.0 onward all the starter sites or individual page templates you import are theme independent and blend well with the theme you have. They’ll inherit the settings from your active theme.

We have two types of templates – Free and Premium. The premium templates are tagged as premium on the portfolio page.

Premium templates are available with Essential or Business Toolkit License.

You will find the complete collection of templates here – https://wpastra.com/starter-templates/

To download the free Starter Templates, you will need to download and activate the free Starter Templates plugin. Here’s the link to the plugin – https://wordpress.org/plugins/astra-sites/

And here’s the article explaining how to import a template and work with it. https://wpastra.com/docs/starter-templates-complete-site/

To use premium Starter Templates you will need to install and activate the license of the Premium Starter Templates plugin which you can download from your store account after purchasing Essential or Business Toolkit.

You can access free templates with the Astra Pro addon plugin.

No. Premium templates cannot be imported with Astra Pro only. You will need an active license of Essential Toolkit or Business Toolkit to access premium templates.

For importing the premium starter templates successfully you require “Ultimate Addons” accessible with an Essential or Business Toolkit license.

That is why premium templates are not available with Astra Pro or as a single template purchase. The premium templates can be imported successfully only when you purchase the Essential or Business Toolkit.

You do NOT require Elementor or Beaver pro versions to use premium Starter Templates.

You can check some ready-to-use free website demos that we created using Astra with free versions of Elementor and Beaver Builder. You can install, import, and use these to build websites too. 🙂

But, if you ever want to use the pro versions of the builder then you can. Astra and Starter Templates are fully compatible with both free and pro versions of the page builders.

Yes, you can mix and match different templates. You can refer to this tutorial – Importing Single Page Templates

If you have import errors, we are here to help. Feel free to reach out to us here – https://wpastra.com/contact/

Yes, you can display Starter Templates as a portfolio. For this, you can use one of our other plugins, WP Portfolio. However, if you want to use the premium templates for your clients, you will need to purchase an Essential or Business Toolkit license.

Ref: How to replicate Starter Templates library?

Popular Integrations:

Astra is the most lightweight, intuitive, and flexible free WordPress theme that extensively integrates with LearnDash LMS out of the box! Ref: LearnDash Integration

Both the free Astra theme as well as the Astra Pro addon both give you features to enhance WooCommerce.

Here are a couple of articles that will help you understand how Astra helps enhance a WooCommerce website:

https://wpastra.com/docs/woocommerce-integration-overview/
https://wpastra.com/docs/woocommerce-module-overview/

Example of Astra + WooCommerce Demo Websites.

Thousands of Elementor users love Astra for its endless customizations and for how well it integrates with the Elementor free and pro versions. You can have a quick summary of the integration here – Theme For Elementor

Astra is a multipurpose WordPress theme built to play nicely with any page builder plugin. The tightest integrations are for Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and Gutenberg as Astra comes with importable demo sites built with those page builders. Ref: Website Demos

However, you can use any page builder plugin that follows the WordPress coding standard.

Astra provides you with flexibility. You get elaborate customization options with Astra, but you are not locked into a single page builder. You can choose between Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, Gutenberg, and other popular page builders.

Astra integrates with Toolset and helps you build a fast custom website with advanced features.

Ref: https://wpastra.com/best-toolset-theme/

Yes, both the Astra theme and Starter Templates provide support for RTL language natively and you can use popular translation plugins such as WPML, Polylang, Translatepress, and WeGlot.

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