🚀 I Built a Django User Management System in One Day

🚀 I Built a Django User Management System in One Day (And Here's What I Learned)

From zero to fully functional — registration, login, profile, verification, and even testing — all before 6PM!

Hi Devs!
I recently had to build a User Management System using Django — with a tight deadline. The task? Build a complete project with registration, login, mock verification, profile management, an admin panel, and even write unit tests — all in a single day. 😅

So I brewed some strong tea ☕, opened Pycharm, and dove in.

Here's how it went down (and what you can learn from it too).

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🛠️ The Tech Stack

• Python 3.11+
• Django 5.x
• SQLite (default for development)
• HTML + Bootstrap via Django Crispy Forms
• Git + GitHub (with a 10-commit rule!)
• Console email backend for mocking verification

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📌 Features I Implemented

• ✅ User Registration
• ✅ Login / Logout
• ✅ Email Verification (mocked in console)
• ✅ Profile View / Edit
• ✅ Change Password
• ✅ Admin Panel for managing users
• ✅ Tests for models and views

And yes — everything works 🥳

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📁 Project Structure

My Django project followed this structure:

user_mgt/
├── accounts/           # Custom user app
│   ├── models.py       # Extended User if needed
│   ├── views.py        # Auth + profile views
│   ├── forms.py        # Crispy-powered forms
│   └── tests.py        # Unit tests
├── user_mgt/
│   └── settings.py     # Configured apps, email, templates
├── templates/
│   └── registration/   # login.html, register.html, etc.
├── static/             # CSS, images, etc.
├── manage.py
└── README.md

I didn’t use any fancy custom user model yet, but made the app scalable to add it later.

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🧱 Step-by-Step Breakdown

1. Project Setup 🧰

django-admin startproject user_mgt
cd user_mgt
python manage.py startapp accounts

I added accounts, crispy_forms, and set up templates and static directories in settings.py.

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2. User Registration 🔐

I created a RegisterForm that extended UserCreationForm, then used a class-based view to render it. Thanks to crispy-forms, it looked great with minimal CSS.

class RegisterView(View):
    def get(self, request):
        form = RegisterForm()
        return render(request, 'registration/register.html', {'form': form})

    def post(self, request):
        form = RegisterForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            user = form.save()
            # send email here (mocked)
            return redirect('login')
        return render(request, 'registration/register.html', {'form': form})

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3. Email Verification (Mocked) 📬

I used Django's built-in console backend:

EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend'

So when a user signs up, it "sends" a verification link in the console — simple, elegant, and demo-ready.

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4. Profile Management 👤

• Profile View: Display user details
• Profile Edit: Allow users to update name, email, etc.
• Password Change: Using Django’s built-in views

Each normal user could only view and edit their profile — nothing more. Security first. 🔐

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5. Admin Panel 🛠️

Django’s admin is magic 🪄. I just registered my User model, customized the display, and boom — I could view and edit all users easily.

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6. Unit Testing 🧪

I wrote simple tests for:

• ✅ Model creation
• ✅ View rendering for login and registration

class UserTestCase(TestCase):
    def test_user_creation(self):
        user = User.objects.create_user(username="dee", password="123asd45")
        self.assertEqual(user.username, "dee")

Small but mighty!

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🤯 Lessons Learned

• Django does a LOT for you. From auth to admin to email, it's a full-stack powerhouse.
• Crispy Forms = 🔥 Makes your forms look instantly professional.
• You don't need to reinvent everything — use built-in tools first, then customize.
• Console email is your friend during development.
• Writing tests early makes you more confident — even if they're simple.

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✅ Final Deliverables

• ✔️ GitHub repo with <10 commits
• ✔️ README with setup + screenshots
• ✔️ Working registration, login, profile, and admin
• ✔️ Tests added

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📦 What’s Next?

I’m planning to:

• Deploy this on Render or Railway
• Add a Docker setup for easier deployment
• Maybe write a Part 2: Advanced User Roles + Permissions!

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🔗 Check Out the Code

👉 GitHub Repository

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🧠 Final Words

This project pushed me to:

• Think fast 🧠
• Code clean 🧹
• Write meaningful commits 📝
• And learn a LOT about Django authentication in just one day

I hope this walkthrough helps you if you're learning Django, or rushing to finish your own project like I was 😅.

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💬 Questions? Suggestions?

Drop them below or ping me on GitHub — happy to connect and grow together as devs! 🙌

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