Django Course Practical Checklist
Created by Cheli
Step-by-step guide to learning Django through building a real-world web application.
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Checklist Items (25)
Set up Development Environment
Prepare your machine with Python, virtual environment, and Django.
Upgrade pip
Upgrade pip to the latest version using `python -m pip install --upgrade pip`.
Install virtualenv
Install virtualenv globally: `pip install virtualenv`.
Create virtual environment
Run `virtualenv env` or `python -m venv env` in your project folder.
Activate virtual environment
On Windows: `env\Scripts\activate`. On macOS/Linux: `source env/bin/activate`.
Create Django Project
Start a new Django project and configure basic settings.
Start project with django-admin
Run `django-admin startproject mysite .` to create project files in current directory.
Configure settings.py
Set DEBUG=True, configure ALLOWED_HOSTS, and choose a database (SQLite by default).
Set up database
Run `python manage.py migrate` to apply initial migrations and create db.sqlite3.
Create superuser
Run `python manage.py createsuperuser` and follow prompts to create admin user.
Run development server
Start server with `python manage.py runserver` and verify it works at http://127.0.0.1:8000.
Design Application Models
Define the data models for your app and register them in the admin.
Create Django app
Run `python manage.py startapp blog` (or your app name).
Define models in models.py
Create classes representing tables, e.g., Post, Author, Comment with appropriate fields.
Register models in admin
Import each model and register with `admin.site.register(Model)` for easy admin management.
Generate and apply migrations
Run `python manage.py makemigrations` then `python manage.py migrate` to create tables.
Populate sample data
Use `python manage.py shell` to create instances, or load fixtures with `loaddata`.
Implement Views and URLs
Create view logic and map URLs to handle requests.
Define project URL patterns
Include app URLs: `path('blog/', include('blog.urls'))`.
Create app-level urls.py
Define paths for each view, e.g., `path('', views.post_list, name='post_list')`.
Write function-based views
Implement views that retrieve data from models and render templates or return JSON.
Implement class-based generic views
Use `ListView`, `DetailView`, `CreateView`, etc., to reduce boilerplate.
Add pagination and filtering
Add `paginate_by` attribute or use Django's Paginator class for large querysets.
Build Frontend, Templates, and Deployment
Create templates, manage static files, and prepare for production deployment.
Set up templates directory
Create a `templates` folder inside the app and configure DIRS in settings.py.
Create base template
Build `base.html` with common HTML structure, CSS/JS links, and block placeholders.
Extend base template
Use `{% extends 'base.html' %}` and fill blocks like `{% block content %}` for each page.
Configure static files
Set STATIC_URL, STATICFILES_DIRS, run `collectstatic`, and serve via appropriate method in production.