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Troubleshooting Astra Theme Layout Issues: When Your Page Looks Broken

31 threads Sep 16, 2025 Theme → Astra

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Many Astra theme users encounter a frustrating problem: their page layout looks perfect in the WordPress block editor but appears broken, misaligned, or completely different on the live site. This issue can manifest as columns smashing together, background colors reverting to defaults, or elements not using the full screen width on mobile devices. Based on common reports from the community, this article explains why this happens and outlines the most effective troubleshooting steps.

Why Does This Layout Discrepancy Occur?

The disparity between the editor view and the frontend view is rarely due to a single cause. The most common culprits are:

  • Aggressive Caching: Both your WordPress site and your browser store temporary data (cache) to load pages faster. Often, this cached data is outdated and doesn't reflect your most recent changes, causing you to see an old, broken version of your layout.
  • Plugin or Theme Conflicts: Another plugin, or sometimes even a recent update to the Astra theme itself, can introduce CSS or JavaScript that interferes with how your page blocks are rendered.
  • Block-Specific Bugs: Updates to Astra or page builder plugins (like Spectra or Stackable) can occasionally introduce bugs that affect how specific blocks, such as columns or containers, are displayed.
  • CSS Overrides: Custom CSS from your theme, a plugin, or your own Customizer additions might be conflicting with the block's default styles.

How to Troubleshoot and Fix Layout Issues

Follow these steps methodically to identify and resolve the problem.

Step 1: Clear All Caches

This is the most common fix. You must clear all levels of caching:

  • WordPress Cache: If you use a caching plugin (e.g., WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache), clear its cache from the plugin's settings.
  • Server Cache: If your web host has a built-in caching mechanism (common on managed hosting), clear it from your hosting control panel or ask your host to do it.
  • Browser Cache: Hard-refresh your browser (Ctrl + F5 on Windows, Cmd + Shift + R on Mac) or clear your browser's cached images and files.

Step 2: Perform a Conflict Test

This test helps you determine if the issue is caused by a plugin or the theme.

  1. Deactivate Plugins: Temporarily deactivate all your plugins except for any essential page builders (e.g., Spectra).
  2. Check the Frontend: With the plugins deactivated, visit your page. If the layout is now correct, you know a plugin is causing the conflict.
  3. Find the Culprit: Reactivate your plugins one by one, checking the page after each activation, until the problem reappears. The last plugin you activated is the source of the conflict. You can then seek support for that specific plugin or look for an alternative.

Step 3: Test with a Default Theme

If deactivating plugins doesn't help, temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four. If the layout issue disappears with the default theme, it confirms the problem is related to the Astra theme. You can then switch back to Astra. This knowledge is key when seeking help, as it isolates the issue.

Step 4: Check for Specific Block Settings

Some layout problems, especially with equal heights or full width on mobile, require checking block settings.

  • For mobile width issues, edit the problematic column or container block. In its settings, look for a responsive tab (often desktop, tablet, and mobile icons) and ensure the padding, margin, and width settings are configured correctly for mobile view.
  • For equal height issues, check if your column block or container has an 'Equal Height' setting that needs to be toggled on.

Step 5: Review Browser Console for Errors

JavaScript errors can break layout functionality. Open your browser's developer tools (F12 on most browsers) and look at the 'Console' tab for any red error messages. These errors can provide a vital clue, such as a faulty script from a recent update, and should be reported if they point directly to an Astra file.

When to Seek Further Help

If you have gone through all these steps and the problem persists, the issue might be more complex. When asking for help in community forums, be prepared to provide:

  • The URL of the page with the issue.
  • Screenshots of the problem from both the editor and the live site.
  • A list of the steps you have already taken to troubleshoot.
  • Any error messages you found in the browser console.

By systematically working through these solutions, you can usually identify and resolve the cause of your Astra theme's layout discrepancies.

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