How to Organize Your Views in Django: Split a Giant views.py into Clean, Modular Files

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If you work on medium or large projects, you've probably noticed that there comes a point where the views.py file becomes a hard-to-maintain monster. In my case, we ended up having more than 13 view classes in a single file, and believe me, maintaining that was a pain.

Why split the views.py file

The problem of having too many views in a single file

When we create an online store or any app with several sections (products, payments, users, etc.), it's common to group everything in views.py. But there comes a time when the file exceeds 500 lines and maintaining it becomes chaotic.

In my case, every time I wanted to modify a payment view, I had to scroll through product or listing views. Furthermore, import conflicts and duplication of logic were frequent. It wasn't practical.

Benefits of modularizing: readability, scalability, and maintenance

Separating views into different files doesn't change performance, but it radically improves readability.
It also facilitates teamwork, allows for cleaner unit testing, and helps with scaling without fear of breaking something.

In large projects, modularizing translates into peace of mind.

Recommended structure for separating views
How to create the views folder as a Python package

The idea is simple: convert views.py into a package (a folder with its own __init__.py), inside of which we create several files separated by type or entity.

Example of a folder structure in a Django project

store/
│
├── views/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── book_views.py
│   ├── product_views.py
│   ├── payment_views.py
│
├── models.py
├── urls.py
└── ...

In my case, I had a store module with book, product, and payment views. This is how I divided it:

• book_views.py: book detail and listing views
• product_views.py: product views
• payment_views.py: views related to payment gateways (Stripe, etc.)

Using the __init__.py file to import the views

The __init__.py file acts as the entry point of the module.
Instead of pointing to views.py from urls.py, we simply point to views, and Django will resolve it automatically.

# store/views/__init__.py
from .book_views import *
from .product_views import *
from .payment_views import *

In short, these modules allow for:

• Current store views
• In this case, we have a view adapted to the store part. Here we can see:
• Details and listings.
• Payment gateways, such as session creation in Stripe.
• Payment views: success, cancellation, error, and any others necessary.
• User payment listings.

We implemented all of this with class-based views, which is recommended in most cases, but the problem is that there are too many views in one file.

Currently, we have around 13 classes in a single file. This hinders reusability and complicates organization. If we wanted to create more views, it would be impractical to keep everything in one file.

What we want to show is how to make the system completely reusable, applying good practices:

• Modularize and separate views into different files.
• Follow a scheme similar to other technologies.
• Prevent a single file from concentrating everything.

In Python, it is not common to define one class per file (as in PHP), but to concentrate several in the same file. Here we do a hybrid, classifying the views according to the entity: book, product, or payment.

Practical step-by-step example

We create a folder called views that will contain several files, one per category. We also add an __init__.py file that will act as the module's entry point:

store/
|- views/
|   |- __init__.py
|   |- book_views.py
|   |- payment_views.py
|   |- product_views.py
|- models.py
|- urls.py
|- ...

In urls.py, you don't have to change anything, since instead of pointing to views.py, we will point to the views module and Django will know how to resolve it.

Now, we move the classes and their imports to each of them; to keep this demonstration simple, we will only copy the class signature:

store\views\payment_views.py

class UserPaymentsView(LoginRequiredMixin, ListView):
  ***
class PaymentBookView(LoginRequiredMixin, View, BasePayment):
  ***
class PaymentProductView(LoginRequiredMixin, View, BasePayment):
  ***
class StripeView(LoginRequiredMixin, View, BasePayment):
  ***
class PaymentSuccessView(LoginRequiredMixin, View):
  ***
class PaymentCancelView(LoginRequiredMixin, View):
  ***
class PaymentErrorView(LoginRequiredMixin, View):
  ***

store\views\book_views.py

class BookIndex(ListView):
  ***
class BookShow(DetailView):
  ***

store\views\product_views.py

class ProductIndexAbstract(ListView, ABC):
  ***
class ProductIndex(ProductIndexAbstract):
  ***
class ProductIndexByType(ProductIndexAbstract):
  ***
class ProductShow(DetailView):
  ***

I always recommend duplicating the original file before refactoring, to have a reference in case of errors. In enterprise environments this is key to not losing implementations that were already working.

How to keep urls.py unchanged

The good news: you don't have to touch anything in urls.py.

After refactoring, EVERYTHING must continue to work exactly the same, no changes are needed in the urls.py file and with this, our views become more reusable; you can use the same trick for other classes like models.py if you see it necessary; it is important to clarify that this is only to improve code readability but offers no performance improvement in the application. Finally, you can vary the implementation by placing more or fewer view files as you see fit.

Django will continue to interpret the routes the same way, since the important thing is that the views module exports the appropriate classes.

Precautions and good practices before refactoring

A tip I always give: duplicate the original file before moving anything.
In enterprise environments, this prevents losing functional implementations.
And remember, separating views improves readability, not performance.

Tips based on real experience

How I apply it in online store projects

In my store, with Class-Based Views (CBV), separating the files allowed me to reuse payment classes and maintain a clear flow between StripeView, PaymentBookView, and PaymentProductView.

Common errors when splitting views

• Forgetting the __init__.py in the views folder.
• Moving views without updating imports.
• Duplicating similar imports or classes in several files.

Recommendations before and after refactoring

• Use consistent names for the files (for example, payment_views, not just payment).
• Run tests after moving each group of views.
• If you use CBV, group them by entity, not by action (product, book, payment…).
• Document the new structure in your README.

Frequently asked questions

• Does splitting views affect performance?
  No. It only improves code organization and readability.
• Can I apply the same thing to small projects?
  Yes, although it is not always necessary. But doing it from the beginning facilitates project growth.
• How to keep imports tidy?
  Group imports by type (Django, own app, external libraries) and use tools like isort.

Conclusion

This modularization scheme makes the project more organized, scalable, and maintainable. Although it is optional, I recommend doing it as a good practice, especially in large projects.

Splitting views.py into several files not only makes your project cleaner but also makes it more professional.
In my experience, applying this modularization in real e-commerce projects with Django marked a before and after in code maintainability.

Remember: you are not looking to optimize performance, but clarity and scalability.
If you apply it, you'll see your code breathe, and you will too.