Azmol Hossain

Posted on Sep 10

How to Create a Django App for Beginners

#webdev #tutorial #beginners #django

If you're just getting started with Django, this guide will walk you
step-by-step through creating your first project and app. By the end,
you'll understand how to set up Django, create models, and run your
project in your browser. Let's dive in!

🛠 Step 1: Project Setup

Before creating a Django project, we need to set up our environment. A
great tool for managing Python dependencies is Pipenv.

Open your terminal and run:

pip install pipenv   # install pipenv (one-time setup)
pipenv shell         # activate virtual environment
pipenv install django  # install Django

This ensures that your project has its own isolated environment, keeping
things clean and organized.

📂 Step 2: Create a Django Project

Once Django is installed, create a new project:

django-admin startproject project_name .

Here, replace project_name with the name of your choice (e.g.,
myproject). The . at the end makes sure the project is created in
the current directory.

📦 Step 3: Create a Django App

In Django, apps are modular components that handle specific
functionality (like blog, accounts, contact, etc.).

Run the following command to create an app:

python manage.py startapp app_name

Replace app_name with your preferred name (e.g., contacts).

⚙️ Step 4: Configure Your Project

After creating the app, we need to tell Django about it. Open
settings.py inside your project folder and add your app to the
INSTALLED_APPS list:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'app_name',  # add your app here
]

👤 Step 5: Database Setup & Superuser

Before we can use Django's built-in admin panel, let's set up the
database.

Run:

python manage.py migrate

This applies the default database migrations.

Now, create a superuser to log in to the admin panel:

python manage.py createsuperuser

You'll be asked to enter: - Username - Email - Password

▶️ Step 6: Run Your Development Server

Start the server:

python manage.py runserver

Visit your site in the browser:

Project home: http://127.0.0.1:8000/\
Admin panel: http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin

📝 Step 7: Create Your First Model

Models define the structure of your database tables. Let's create a
simple Contact model.

Open your app's models.py and add:

from django.db import models

class Contact(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    email = models.EmailField()
    phone = models.CharField(max_length=15)
    address = models.TextField()
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    updated_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name

🔄 Step 8: Apply Model Migrations

Whenever you add or modify models, you need to run migrations:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

This creates the necessary database tables.

🎉 You're All Set!

Now you have a working Django project with: - A project setup\

An app added\
A database configured\
A model created

You can expand this project by creating views, templates, and URLs to
display your data.

✅ Next Steps for You - Learn about Django views and
templates\

Build CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) functionality\
Explore Django REST Framework for APIs

👉 This tutorial should help any beginner start their Django journey
smoothly.

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