Django Tutorial

Learn what Django is, what it includes, and why it is a popular framework for building Python web applications.

Compare Django with Flask, FastAPI, and smaller Python web tools so you know when Django is a good choice.

Install Django 5.x in a virtual environment and create your first project with django-admin startproject.

Understand the files created by django-admin startproject and where your Django code belongs.

Run the development server, register apps, and understand the settings that make Django project pieces work together.

Learn Django MTV architecture and how models, templates, and views work together to create pages.

Map browser paths to Django views using project URL files, app URL files, path converters, and named routes.

Write beginner-friendly Django views with Python functions, HttpResponse, render, request data, and context dictionaries.

Create Django HTML templates, pass data from views, display variables, and loop over lists.

Use common Django template tags and filters to display lists, conditions, URLs, dates, defaults, and formatted values.

Create a base template and extend it so pages can share layout, navigation, styles, and reusable blocks.

Add CSS, JavaScript, and images to Django pages using static files, app static folders, and the static template tag.

Define Django models and understand how the ORM maps Python classes to database tables.

Use makemigrations and migrate to turn Django model changes into database table changes safely.

Use Django admin to manage database records and customize how models appear in the built-in admin site.

Use Django QuerySets to create, read, update, and delete database records with Python.

Connect Django models with ForeignKey, ManyToManyField, and OneToOneField relationships.

Build Django forms, display them in templates, handle GET and POST requests, and read cleaned data.

Use ModelForm to create and edit model objects with less repeated form code.

Validate Django form fields with built-in validators, custom clean methods, and user-friendly error messages.

Show one-time success, error, warning, and info messages after form submissions and redirects.

Return simple responses, redirect users after actions, and choose the right response type for beginner Django views.

Raise 404 errors, use get_object_or_404, and create custom 404 and 500 error templates.

Create readable detail page URLs with slug fields, unique slugs, URL patterns, and get_object_or_404.

Build the common Django list and detail page pattern for blogs, courses, inventory apps, and other real projects.

Understand Django class-based views and rewrite common function views as reusable view classes.

Use Django generic views to build common model pages with less repetitive code.

Share authentication, filtering, ownership, and context behavior across Django class-based views.

Use Django's built-in user system to check logged-in users and protect practical views.

Build practical login, logout, and signup pages using Django auth views and forms.

Protect views with permissions, groups, user_passes_test, and class-based auth mixins.

Wire Django's built-in password reset views with email settings and templates.

Store per-browser state safely with Django sessions and understand how cookies fit in.

Filter, combine, slice, and inspect QuerySets using Django ORM lookups and Q objects.

Calculate totals, counts, and database-side expressions with Django ORM aggregation tools.

Avoid N+1 queries by loading related data efficiently with select_related and prefetch_related.

Move reusable ORM filters and domain-specific query methods into managers and QuerySets.

Accept user-uploaded files with FileField, ImageField, forms, templates, and development media URLs.

Use Django signals carefully for side effects such as creating profiles and reacting to saves.

Understand Django middleware and write small request/response hooks for cross-cutting behavior.

Add shared template variables with context processors while keeping global context lean.

Split long QuerySets into pages with Django Paginator and generic view pagination.

Build beginner-friendly search and filter pages with GET parameters and QuerySets.

Show one-time success, error, warning, and info messages after redirects.

Send transactional email from Django with console, SMTP, and template-based messages.

Create your first JSON API with Django REST Framework and understand API basics.

Use DRF serializers and viewsets to turn Django models into practical CRUD API endpoints.

Protect DRF endpoints with session authentication, token authentication concepts, and permissions.

Use Django tests to protect models, forms, views, permissions, redirects, and templates before bugs reach users.

Configure production security settings, protect secrets, avoid unsafe query patterns, and use Django security checks.

Understand the browser attacks Django helps prevent and how to keep those protections working in real apps.

Prepare Django for production with Gunicorn, WhiteNoise, environment variables, static collection, and deployment checks.

Configure Django for PostgreSQL, use migrations carefully, understand indexes, and operate production databases safely.

Understand the difference between static and media files, collect assets, serve uploads, and avoid common production file mistakes.

Use Django caching at the right layer: per-view, fragment, low-level, database query, and HTTP cache headers.

Learn what async Django views can and cannot improve, how to call async services, and how to avoid blocking the event loop.

Move slow work out of requests with a Celery-style task queue mental model, task definitions, retries, and status tracking.

Organize large Django apps with clear boundaries, service modules, query modules, templates, and URL structure.

Split Django settings into base, development, test, and production modules without losing clarity.

Build a production-shaped blog with posts, slugs, comments, moderation, tests, templates, and clean URL structure.

Build a simple product catalog with categories, product detail pages, admin editing, query optimization, and a contact form.

Build an authenticated SaaS dashboard shell with organizations, membership, protected views, settings, and tests.

Recognize frequent Django mistakes in settings, queries, templates, forms, security, migrations, and project organization.

Know the major tools around Django, when to reach for them, and how to evaluate packages responsibly.

Choose a learning path after Django: APIs, databases, deployment, security, performance, frontend integration, and professional habits.