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The Ultimate Guide to Web Development with Python and Django: From Zero to Production

This Super Post serves as a foundational guide for those who want to learn Django or simply solidify their knowledge in critical areas of modern web application development. Unlike superficial introductions, this guide delves into the practical implementation and best practices of five essential components: 

  1. Managing and reverting migrations.
  2. Integrating rich content editors.
  3. Implementing a modern frontend workflow with Tailwind CSS.
  4. Securely managing configurations and secrets.
  5. Optimizing for search engines through dynamic sitemaps. 

The goal is to provide a detailed manual that serves as a reference for building robust, secure, and scalable Django applications.

Each section has been structured as a brief introduction to the topic, and I automatically provide the link for you to continue in the publication, some step-by-step code blocks, and considerations. 

Upon finishing the reading and application of the concepts presented here, the developer will have a practical command of how to solve complex ORM problems, improve the user experience in content management, efficiently decouple the frontend from the backend, prevent credential exposure vulnerabilities, and ensure proper site indexing by search engines.

What is Django 5 and what is it for, or why use it in web development?

Django is an excellent framework and the most famous, or at least the first one that comes to mind when we talk about Python for the web; Django offers us everything necessary to create small or large-scale projects right from the framework's installation; Django 5 is a powerful framework whose main advantages are:

Django is an open-source web framework based on Python that helps create web applications. The popularity of this framework has increased rapidly in recent years. 

Compared to other Python-based frameworks like Flask, Django is the most popular among Python developers. It is compatible with Python 2.7+ and Python 3.x versions. Currently, the latest version of Django is 4.

Reasons to Learn to Develop in Django and Python in General

Web development is one of the fields with the greatest potential and the largest number of technologies. There is an immense amount of technologies like PHP, Python, Node, Go, Dart, and if we delve into any of these technologies, many of which are languages, we have a wide range of options such as:

And these are just to name a few technologies, but we have many more, and new ones are emerging every day. In this vast sea, you find Django, and you're wondering if Django is the right technology for you, if it's really worth learning to develop in Django. In this article, I'm going to give you my reasons why I consider Django a central technology in which we can not only master a robust, stable framework with a long time on the market, but also the added advantages of learning to program in Django.

It's a dynamic and exciting field, and choosing the right framework can make a difference in your career as a developer. Django, a Python web framework, offers a series of advantages that make it an excellent choice for learning and building web applications. In this article, we will explain why you should consider learning to develop in Django.

Creating a management module quickly, dynamically, and customized with the admin app

A Django project has several applications, one of the most interesting is the application called admin that comes for free when we create a Django project. It has a high level of customization that ranges from defining how to present the different elements of the CRUD, grouping form elements, as well as defining field types, registering related forms, organizing the table or list, defining filters and search fields, changing the style, and a long etc. to create customized applications for our clients.

Advantages of Learning Django

Let's talk about the advantages we have when developing in Django:

  1. Django has many features out of the box, it is a framework that follows the "Batteries included" philosophy, which means it brings everything necessary by default to create traditional and all types of web applications.
  2. It has a modular structure, thanks to Python which is based on modules, this is also migrated to Django. It is divided into applications where a project can have multiple applications that are independent of each other and facilitates modularity and code reuse.
  3. It is a secure framework, it includes a robust authentication system, protection against XSS and CSRF.
  4. It is a modular and easily scalable framework.
  5. A large community and excellent documentation, a small part of which is in Spanish.
  6. Exclusive packages for Django that won't let you down. It has extremely powerful packages like Django Rest Framework to create all kinds of Rest APIs, with authentication via tokens, session, and all types, Django Channels for full-duplex communication, among others, also with Django Admin which comes by default with which you can create complete CRUDs with few lines of code.
  7. These are just some advantages, but there are many more.
  8. It is a stable technology, versions usually do not require us to learn to program in the framework again, they are changes of various versions, bug fixes and incorporating new technologies but, without sacrificing the current syntax.

How long does it take to learn Django?

Django is a huge framework, with many options as I have mentioned. If you are new to programming or this is your first framework, Django might not be the best option for you. You could try Flask, which I talk about in this other post.

The problem that Django can have for beginners is that, being a framework that comes with everything, as with Laravel, you might feel overwhelmed at first with so many things that are not initially necessary to learn to program. Whereas with Flask, being a microframework, you can go step by step, developing from 5 lines of code to a complete application. And the best part is this: web frameworks like Django, Flask, or FastAPI have more similarities than differences. Therefore, by learning one of them, you can, in a way, apply the knowledge among these technologies, although it is clear that the syntax is different. But still, being Python and web programming, there are many similarities between them, more similarities than differences.

What should I know before working with Django?

I already answered this point a bit earlier, but my recommendation is that Django should not be your first framework. If it is your first framework in Python or simply your first framework, I would recommend that you first learn something simpler like CodeIgniter, which is an excellent PHP framework, or Flask, which is a Python framework.

Also, of course, you have to know Python; we will discuss its advantages later.

Django is a server-side framework, so before taking your first steps with Django, you should familiarize yourself with the language so that you can later tackle topics that are specific to the framework and with this, not feel lost. Review the official documentation and see if you see yourself programming in this marvel.

When talking about web development with Python, the name Django comes up almost immediately. This framework has been, for years, the foundation on which secure, scalable, and production-ready applications are built in record time. Django is a high-level Python web framework that facilitates the rapid development of secure and maintainable applications. It was created with the idea that developers should focus on the logic of their application and not on reinventing what is already solved.

Supported by the full power of the Python ecosystem, Django offers libraries, tools, and a clean syntax that accelerates development. Its main advantages are:

Django provides the tools to make most basic applications, to perform common operations such as database connection, user management, forms, among others. It is a framework with "batteries included."

For a more detailed introduction, you can consult the article What is Django framework and why you should learn it?.

Why learn Django? or Is it worth learning Django? What skills should I have?

The better question would be WHY NOT LEARN DJANGO. I have already given you a ton of reasons and I consider it one of the most versatile, secure, scalable, and enjoyable frameworks to program with, along with Laravel. Its modular structure, thanks to Python, makes it an all-in-one framework.

Want a functional project in a few weeks? USE DJANGO. By having so many features, you can create your dream project in a short time.

The bad side of Django

Like everything in life, nothing is perfect. Django has some aspects that should be improved in its future versions. As we mentioned before, programming in Django if it's your first time is not recommended, as it has a structure that can initially seem complex. Also, it has problems with naming conventions for defining modules like forms, configuration files, routes, among others, for which you can find many variations on the Internet, further complicating its understanding.

As your first framework for Python, I recommend Flask.

Django Fundamentals: From Zero to "Hello World"

Before building complex applications, it's crucial to understand the foundations on which Django is built. This section will take you from the most basic concepts to creating your first functional web page, establishing a solid base for everything that will come after.

The MTV Design Pattern: Django's Architecture

Django follows a design pattern known as Model-Template-View (MTV), which is a slight variation of the more well-known Model-View-Controller (MVC). Understanding this architecture is fundamental to organizing your code effectively.

Unlike traditional MVC, where the "Controller" is the one that chooses which view to display, in Django, the framework itself is responsible for routing requests to the correct view through its URL system. 

The "View" in Django is more like the "Controller" in MVC, while the "Template" is the "View" in MVC. 

This distinction, although subtle, prioritizes clarity and productivity. For a deeper explanation of its differences and advantages, we recommend reading The MTV design pattern in Django and its differences with MVC.

Remember the "Fat models, thin views" concept

Writing your application logic in views instead of models means you have written code that belongs in your model in the view, making it "fat" and your model "thin."

You should write fat models, thin views.

Break down the logic into small methods in your models. This allows you to use it multiple times from multiple sources (admin UI, front-end UI, API endpoints, multiple views) in a few lines of code instead of copying and pasting tons of code. So, the next time you send an email to a user, extend the model with an email function instead of writing this logic in your controller.

This also makes your code easier to test because you can test the email logic in one place, rather than repeatedly in every controller where this occurs.

Your First Application: Creating a "Hello World"

The most exciting moment when learning a new technology is seeing it work for the first time. Creating a "Hello World" in Django will allow you to verify that your environment is correctly configured and you will understand the basic flow of a request.

The process is summarized in the following steps:

  1. Create a project: A project is the general container for your website. It is created with the command:

    django-admin startproject my_project

  2. Create an application: An application is a functional module within your project (e.g., a blog, a store, etc.). We create it with:

    python manage.py startapp my_app
  3. Register the application: For the project to recognize the new application, you must add it to the INSTALLED_APPS list in the settings.py file.

  4. Create a view: In my_app/views.py, you define a function that returns an HTTP response.

    from django.http import HttpResponse

def hola_mundo(request):
    return HttpResponse("Hello World from Django")
  5. Configure the URL: You must tell Django which URL should trigger this view. First, you create a my_app/urls.py file and then include it in the main urls.py file of the project.

  6. Run the server: Finally, you start the development server:

    python manage.py runserver

    When you visit the configured URL, you will see your message in the browser.

This simple exercise encapsulates the complete cycle of a request in Django. If you want to follow the full tutorial, visit Creating our first complete hello world example in Django.

The Heart of Django: Models and Databases

The model layer is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful and defining features of Django. It acts as the single source of truth for your data, providing an elegant and "Pythonic" way to interact with your database without writing a single line of SQL.

What are Models and how do they structure your data?

A model in Django is a Python class that inherits from django.db.models.Model. Each attribute of this class represents a database field, and each instance of the class represents a record (a row) in the table.

For example, a simple model for a blog might look like this:

from django.db import models

class Post(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    content = models.TextField()
    publication_date = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

In this example, Post will become a table in the database, with columns for title, content, and publication_date. Django offers a wide variety of field types:

These allow you to precisely define the structure of your data, including validations and relationships between tables. The __str__ method is important for providing a human-readable representation of the object, for example, in the Django admin panel. For a complete guide on how to get started, you can read Models in Django: what they are, how to create and use them.

A complete ORM to manage our database

We have a complete ORM or Object-Relational Model, very agile to use, and we can create all kinds of structures and relationships with our database easily and efficiently; Django's ORM, like many others from other technologies, maps a model to a table in the database where a column in the database corresponds to a property of the table.

Through models, we can create, read, update, and delete records in the database, which can be PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, and SQLite.

Migrations: Versioning Your Database Schema

Once you have defined your models, how does that translate into actual tables in the database? The answer is: migrations.

It manages a migration system based on model classes that we define, which has a one-to-one relationship between the model and the migration.

We can create a migration easily and efficiently, as we can generate it via the command line and all as source code from the Model class of our MTV.

Migrations are Python files that describe the changes in your models incrementally. They act as a version control system for your database schema. The workflow is simple and powerful:

  1. You modify your models: You add a field, delete a model, change a data type, etc.

  2. You create the migration: You run the command:

    python manage.py makemigrations

    Django compares your current models with the state of the last migrations and generates a new migration file with the differences.

  3. You apply the migration: To execute the changes in the database, you use:

    python manage.py migrate

    This command executes all pending migrations and synchronizes your database with your models.

This system is incredibly useful, especially when working in a team, as it ensures that all developers have a consistent database schema. Learn all about them in Migrations in Django: what they are, how they work, and examples.

Connecting with MySQL: A Practical Guide

By default, Django uses SQLite, a lightweight file-based database. It's perfect for development and for small projects. However, for production applications or those requiring greater scalability, it is common to use more robust databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL.

Connecting Django to MySQL is a simple process that involves two main steps:

  1. Install a connector: Django needs a "driver" to communicate with MySQL. The most common option is mysqlclient, although PyMySQL is a popular alternative due to its ease of installation, especially on Windows.

    $ pip install PyMySQL

  2. Configure settings.py: You must update the DATABASES dictionary with your connection details:

    DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
        'NAME': 'nombre_de_tu_db',
        'USER': 'tu_usuario',
        'PASSWORD': 'tu_contraseña',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '3306',
    }
}

    Additionally, if you use PyMySQL, you need to add a couple of lines in the __init__.py file of your project for Django to recognize it.

  3. And we configure it in the file named __init__.py of the module we have inside our project with the same name as the project:
    1. import pymysql
pymysql.version_info = (1, 4, 0, "final", 0)
pymysql.install_as_MySQLdb()

Once configured, you can run python manage.py migrate and Django will create all its initial tables in your MySQL database. For a detailed tutorial, check out How to Configure and Connect Django with MySQL step by step.

Creating Interfaces: Views and Templates

With the models and database ready, the next step is to display that information to the user. This is where Views and Templates come into play, the other two key pieces of the MTV pattern. Views handle the logic, while templates handle the presentation.

Generating Paginated Lists with Bootstrap 5

Displaying long lists of data on a single page is inefficient and not user-friendly. Pagination is the solution, and Django makes it incredibly easy. Django's Paginator is a class that takes a list of objects and divides it into smaller pages.

In your view, the process would be:

  1. Get all objects from the model (e.g., Product.objects.all()).
  2. Create an instance of Paginator, passing it the list of objects and the number of items per page.
  3. Get the page number from the GET request (e.g., ?page=2).
  4. Pass the current page object to the template.

In the template, you can iterate over the objects of the current page and use the properties of the page_obj object (like has_previous, has_next, previous_page_number, next_page_number) to build the navigation controls. Combined with the pagination classes of Bootstrap 5, you can achieve a professional result with very little effort. Find out how in How to create a paginated list in Django with Bootstrap 5.

Detail Views with DetailView

Besides lists, a common task is to display detailed information of a single object. You could do this with a function-based view, looking up the object by its ID and returning a 404 error if it doesn't exist. However, Django offers a more elegant and reusable way: Class-Based Views (CBVs), and in particular, DetailView.

Using DetailView is as simple as creating a class that inherits from it and defining two attributes:

from django.views.generic import DetailView
from .models import Product

class ProductDetailView(DetailView):
    model = Product
    template_name = 'product_detail.html'

Django automatically handles getting the object (using the pk or slug from the URL), handling the 404 error if not found, and passing the object to the template. This not only reduces code but also makes your views cleaner and more maintainable. For more details, read DetailView in Django: how to show a detail view.

Master Templates: The Secret to DRY Code

As your application grows, you'll notice that many of your pages share a common structure (header, footer, navigation menu, etc.). Repeating this HTML in every template is a violation of the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle. Django's solution is template inheritance.

You can create a base template (base.html) that contains all the common structure and defines blocks ({% block %}) that child templates can override.

<!-- base.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>{% block title %}Mi Sitio{% endblock %}</title>
</head>
<body>
    <nav>...</nav>
    <main>
        {% block content %}{% endblock %}
    </main>
    <footer>...</footer>
</body>
</html>

Then, a child template simply extends the base and fills in the blocks:

{% extends "base.html" %}

{% block title %}Listado de Productos{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>Nuestros Productos</h1>
    <!-- Logic-->
{% endblock %}

This approach is fundamental to maintaining clean and easy-to-maintain code. Learn how to implement it in Generate the master or base template in a Django app.

Managing Static Files (CSS, JS, Images)

Static files are the resources that give life and style to your application: CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts, etc. Django has a robust system for managing them.

In development, Django can serve these files for you if you correctly configure STATIC_URL and STATICFILES_DIRS in settings.py. The {% static %} tag in your templates allows you to generate the correct URLs for these files.

In production, the approach is different. It is not efficient for Django to serve static files. Instead, the command python manage.py collectstatic gathers all static files from your project into a single folder (STATIC_ROOT). 

Then, a web server like Nginx or a service like WhiteNoise is responsible for serving them efficiently. For a complete guide, visit Managing static files in Django.

Interacting with the User: Forms and Requests

A web application is a dialogue. We not only display information, but we also receive it from the user. Django's form system is one of its most powerful features, as it abstracts and simplifies the validation, rendering, and processing of data submitted by the user.

Creating Forms with Form and ModelForm

Django offers two main ways to create forms:

  1. forms.Form: Allows you to define a form manually, field by field. It is ideal for forms that are not directly linked to a model, such as a contact form.

    from django import forms

class ContactForm(forms.Form):
    name = forms.CharField(max_length=100)
    email = forms.EmailField()
    message = forms.CharField(widget=forms.Textarea)

  2. forms.ModelForm: It is a faster and more convenient way to create a form from an existing model. Django introspects the model and automatically generates the corresponding form fields, including basic validations.

    from django.forms import ModelForm
from .models import Product

class ProductForm(ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        model = Product
        fields = ['name', 'description', 'price']

Both types of forms handle rendering the HTML, validating the data, and cleaning the user's input, providing a layer of security and consistency. Delve deeper into the topic in What are, and how to create forms in Django?.

Processing GET and POST Requests securely with CSRF

In a view, you can differentiate whether the user is requesting the page for the first time (GET request) or submitting data (POST request).

def contact_view(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = ContactForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            # Procesar los datos de form.cleaned_data
            return HttpResponseRedirect('/success/')
    else:
        form = ContactForm()
    return render(request, 'contact.html', {'form': form})

The form.is_valid() method is crucial: it runs all the validations defined in the form. If the data is valid, it will be available in the form.cleaned_data dictionary.

Additionally, Django automatically protects against CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) attacks. You simply have to include the {% csrf_token %} tag inside your form in the template. Django will take care of verifying that the POST request comes from your own site and not from a malicious third party.

File Uploads: Implementing an ImageField

Uploading files, such as profile pictures or documents, requires additional configuration. Besides using a FileField or ImageField in your model, you must ensure two things:

  1. The HTML form must have the attribute enctype="multipart/form-data".

  2. When instantiating the form in the view, you must pass request.FILES in addition to request.POST:

    form = MyForm(request.POST, request.FILES)

You will also need to configure MEDIA_URL and MEDIA_ROOT in your settings.py to tell Django where to store and how to serve these user-uploaded files. For a practical example, see File Uploads in Django.

Dynamic Search and Filters

Implementing a search or filter functionality is essential in applications with a lot of data. You can do this easily by combining a simple form with Django's ORM.

A search form typically uses the GET method, so that the search terms are reflected in the URL. In the view, you can get these terms with request.GET.get('query') and use them to filter a QuerySet.

For more complex searches that span multiple fields, Django's Q object is your best ally, allowing you to build queries with logical operators (| for OR and & for AND).

from django.db.models import Q

results = Product.objects.filter(
    Q(name__icontains=query) | Q(description__icontains=query)
)

This technique allows you to create powerful filtering systems without the need for external libraries. Learn how to implement it in Implementing a search field and filters with forms in Django.

Taking Your Application to the Next Level: APIs and Real-Time

Once you master the fundamentals of Django, you can start exploring more advanced features that open up a world of possibilities, such as exposing your data through an API or building interactive real-time applications.

Creating a REST API with Django Rest Framework

In modern web development, it is very common to separate the backend from the frontend. To do this, the backend needs to expose a REST API that the frontend (a React, Vue, Angular application, or a mobile app) can consume. The quintessential tool for this in the Django ecosystem is Django Rest Framework (DRF).

DRF integrates seamlessly with Django and provides a set of tools for building APIs quickly and easily:

With DRF, you can transform your Django models into a fully functional API in a matter of minutes. For a complete guide, check out How to create a Rest API in Django step by step.

Token Authentication for your API

Protecting an API is crucial. One of the most common ways to do this is through token authentication. The flow is as follows:

  1. A user sends their credentials (username and password) to a login endpoint.
  2. The server verifies the credentials and, if they are correct, generates a unique token associated with that user.
  3. The server returns the token to the client.
  4. From that moment on, the client must include that token in the Authorization header of each request to protected endpoints.

Django Rest Framework includes a token authentication system (TokenAuthentication) that you can activate with a few lines of configuration. This allows you to protect your ViewSets so that only authenticated users can access them.

Websockets with Django Channels for real-time applications

Traditionally, web communication is based on the HTTP request-response cycle. However, for applications that require instant communication (like chats, real-time notifications, or self-updating dashboards), this model is not efficient. This is where Websockets come in.

Django, by default, is synchronous. To handle Websockets, we need an asynchronous layer. Django Channels extends Django's capabilities to handle not just HTTP, but also other protocols like Websockets. Channels runs on an ASGI (Asynchronous Server Gateway Interface) server, instead of the traditional WSGI.

With Channels, you can define "Consumers" that manage Websocket connections, allowing for bidirectional and persistent communication between the client and the server. This opens the door to creating highly interactive applications. For an introduction and practical example, visit Websockets in Django using Django Channels.

Management and Administration: Advanced Tools

Beyond the main business logic, a robust project requires tools for its management, administration, and to control the flow of requests. Django shines in this aspect, offering "out-of-the-box" solutions for many of these needs.

Django Admin: The Ultimate Administration Panel

One of Django's most beloved and powerful features is its admin panel. It is a complete and functional application that is automatically generated from your models. With just a few lines of code, you can have a web interface to create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) your application's data.

To register a model in the admin panel, you simply have to add it to the admin.py file of your application:

from django.contrib 
import admin from .models import Product 
admin.site.register(Product)

The Django Admin is highly customizable. You can define which fields to display in lists (list_display), add filters (list_filter), enable search fields (search_fields), and much more. It is an invaluable tool for internal data management, rapid prototyping, and content administration. Explore its capabilities in What is Django Admin and what is it for?.

Custom Middlewares: Intercepting Requests and Responses

A middleware is a piece of code that sits between the user's request and the view, and between the view's response and the browser. It acts as a "hooks" system that allows you to process each request and response globally.

Django already includes several default middlewares for functionalities like session management, authentication, and CSRF protection. However, you can also create your own. This is useful for:

Creating a custom middleware is as simple as defining a function or a class with specific methods like __call__. Find out how in All about custom middlewares in Django.

Sessions: Maintaining User State

The HTTP protocol is "stateless," which means that each request is independent of the previous one. To maintain information about a user across multiple requests (like knowing if they are logged in or what products they have in their shopping cart), Django uses a session framework.

When a user visits your site for the first time, Django assigns them a unique session ID and sends it to the browser in a cookie. In subsequent requests, the browser returns this cookie, allowing Django to retrieve the session data stored on the server (by default, in the database).

You can access the session in your views through the request.session object, which behaves like a Python dictionary:

# Save data in the session 
request.session['user_id'] = 123 
request.session['theme'] = 'dark' 
# Retrieve data from the session 
user_id = request.session.get('user_id')

The session system is fundamental for authentication and for personalizing the user experience. To learn more, read Django Session: what it is and how to use it.

Best Practices and Deployment

Writing code that works is just the first step. Writing clean, maintainable code and deploying it efficiently in a production environment is what distinguishes a professional developer. This section focuses on best practices and the final process of bringing your application to the world.

Best Practices for Professional Django Development

A well-structured project is easier to maintain, scale, and debug. Here are some of the best practices in the Django ecosystem:

Deploying Your Application to Production

Deployment is the process of putting your application on a server to make it accessible to the public. Although it may seem intimidating, modern platforms have greatly simplified this process.

Before deploying, make sure you have:

  1. A requirements.txt file with all dependencies (pip freeze > requirements.txt).
  2. DEBUG = False in settings.py for security.
  3. A production WSGI/ASGI server like Gunicorn or Uvicorn, as Django's development server is not suitable for production.
  4. Configured static file handling with collectstatic.

Platforms like Railway and PythonAnywhere offer almost seamless integration with Django. Typically, you just need to connect your GitHub repository, configure some environment variables, and the platform will take care of the rest, detecting your Django project, installing dependencies, and deploying the application.

Conclusion: Your Journey with Django Has Just Begun

We have come a long way, from the fundamentals of the MTV pattern to deploying an application in a production environment. You have seen how Django, with its "batteries included" philosophy, provides robust and elegant tools for every stage of web development. You have learned to structure your data with models, present it with views and templates, interact with users through forms, build RESTful APIs, and manage your application like a professional.

However, mastering Django is not a destination, but a continuous journey. The Python and Django ecosystem is constantly evolving, offering new libraries, techniques, and best practices. I encourage you not to stop here. Experiment, build your own projects, explore third-party packages, and join the vibrant Django community.

If you wish to delve deeper, I invite you to explore the resources available at DesarrolloLibre, such as the complete web development course with Django 5 or the book First steps with Django 5. These materials will provide you with an even more solid foundation and guide you in building increasingly complex and professional applications.

Web development is an exciting and challenging field. With Django as your tool, you have the power to build almost anything you can imagine. Now it's your turn to create!

Course and Book to master Django

If you were left wanting more, I bring you these premium resources.

In this book First steps with Django 5, we will learn how the framework is formed, the basic features that Django offers us as a framework par excellence for creating CRUD processes, which range from the creation of views, templates, connection with models, routing, form validations, creating middleware, among others.

Also available in Django Course in Spanish format.

And, if you want to go to the next level, I also have an advanced course and book on Django in which we create an online store:

In short, you will have a huge amount of material at your disposal to make real web applications.

This course/book is aimed at anyone who wants to start developing with Django; you may come from another framework or even PHP; in both cases, it is a great idea to learn from one of the most advanced and complete web frameworks you can find.

For those who want to get to know the framework and who know other web frameworks, but do not have the necessary knowledge to venture into these.

For those people who want to learn something new, learn about a framework that, although it has a lot of documentation, most of it is in English and as the framework is constantly evolving, it tends to become outdated.

For people who want to improve a skill in web development, who want to grow as a developer and who want to continue climbing their path with other similar frameworks.

For those who want to learn or improve a skill and with this, increase their employment opportunities or to carry out a personal project.

This guide is intended to give the first steps with Django; with this, we are going to state two things:

  1. It is not a guide that aims to know Django 100%, or from zero to expert, as that would be too big a goal for the scope of this guide, but to know its ecosystem, what it offers us and how it works based on several examples and/or small applications with limited scopes.
  2. It is assumed that the reader has at least basic knowledge of the Python programming language, as well as web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; it is also recommended that you have at least theoretical knowledge about the framework in the use of modules, migrations, MTV; although in the book we make introductions to the entire base structure of the framework.

Extra: Cloning a Django Project with Git and Github and Configuration

I'll show you a key process once the project is synchronized with GitHub, which you can use if, for example, you want to **work on different machines or with a team**. It's one of the great advantages of having the code hosted on GitHub.

1. Repository Cloning

The first step is to move to the directory where we want to copy the project and then clone the repository URL:

$ git clone <URL_del_repositorio>

2. Local Environment Setup

Once cloned, you have the source code (the files), but you are missing the functional part: the virtual environment and the dependencies.

A. Virtual Environment Creation
B. Dependency Installation

Although we only have Django right now, in a real project you will have many dependencies, and this is where requirements.txt shows its value since, with a single command, we install everything.

Isolation: This process highlights the importance of having an isolated virtual environment: each project has its own dependencies without mixing with others.

To install everything necessary, we use the file we generated before:

$ pip install -r requirements.txt

This automatically installs all dependencies listed in the file, without the need for manual commands.

3. Startup and Verification

Once the dependencies are installed, we start the server to verify that everything works:

$ python manage.py runserver
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