Backend7 min read

Django

Build production-ready web applications with Django - ORM, admin, authentication, REST APIs with DRF, and deployment best practices.

DjangoPythonWeb FrameworkORMREST

skill: Django category: Backend tags: [Django, Python, Web Framework, ORM, REST] readingTime: 7

Django's batteries-included philosophy means the right solution is usually already in Django - before reaching for a third-party package, check the Django docs. The ORM, admin, auth, forms, and migrations save thousands of lines of boilerplate code.

Workflow

Design models firstModels are the heart of a Django app - getting the schema right saves painful migrations later.
Build REST APIs with Django REST FrameworkDRF provides serializers, viewsets, authentication, permissions, and pagination for building REST APIs quickly.
Optimize ORM queriesDjango ORM can generate N+1 queries without explicit select_related/prefetch_related, killing performance on large datasets.
Configure settings for productionDevelopment settings (DEBUG=True, SQLite, local static files) break in production. Django's split settings pattern separates them cleanly.
Run background tasks with CelerySlow tasks (email sending, image processing, API calls) block HTTP responses. Celery processes them asynchronously in worker processes.

Output Format

Django app: models with Meta and indexes, DRF viewsets, select_related queries, split settings, and Celery tasks.

models.py: Model + Meta(ordering, indexes)
serializers.py: ModelSerializer
views.py: ModelViewSet + permissions
urls.py: router.register()
celery tasks: @shared_task for async work

Examples

Input

Output

Edge Cases & Gotchas

Transaction integrity - Multiple model saves that must succeed together need transaction.atomic(). Without it, partial saves corrupt data on errors.
Migration conflicts - Two developers adding fields to the same model creates migration conflicts. Serialize migrations via PR review; merge manually with migrate --merge.
CSRF in DRF APIs - Session-authenticated DRF APIs need CSRF tokens for non-GET requests. Use TokenAuthentication or JWT instead for SPA clients.
Admin on production - Change the admin URL from /admin/ to a secret path. Add 2FA. Restrict by IP. Default /admin/ is the first thing attackers try.

When to Break These Rules

Use FastAPI instead of Django for pure API services with no admin or ORM requirements - FastAPI is significantly faster and lighter.
Use Next.js API routes instead of Django for small frontends - Django's full stack is overkill for 5 API endpoints.

Reference Files

https://docs.djangoproject.com/
https://www.django-rest-framework.org/