How to Deploy a Django Project on DigitalOcean (Step-by-Step Guide with Nginx & Gunicorn)

Introduction

So, you have successfully created your DigitalOcean Droplet (if you haven't, check out our previous guide https://www.infosagar.in/blog/web-hosting/create-digitalocean-account-droplet-guide/).  Now comes the exciting part: taking your Django project from your local computer and putting it live on the internet for the world to see.

Many developers find deployment intimidating because it involves the Linux command line and server configuration. But don't worry! In this guide, we will set up a Production-Ready environment using the industry-standard stack:

1. Ubuntu: The Operating System.
2. PostgreSQL: The Database (Robust and scalable).
3. Gunicorn: The Application Server (It executes your Python code).
4. Nginx: The Web Server (It handles traffic, security, and static files).

Let's dive in!

Prerequisites

• An active DigitalOcean Droplet (Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04).
• Your Django project code uploaded to GitHub (or GitLab/Bitbucket).

• A Domain Name (e.g., example.com) pointed to your Droplet's IP address.

   

Step 1: Login and Update the Server

First, open your terminal (Command Prompt or PowerShell) and log in to your server via SSH:

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

Once inside, it is best practice to update the software repositories to ensure security:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Required Packages

We need to install Python, the PostgreSQL database, and Nginx. Run this command:

sudo apt install python3-pip python3-dev libpq-dev postgresql postgresql-contrib nginx curl git -y

Step 3: Configure PostgreSQL Database

Django works best with PostgreSQL in production. We need to create a database and a user.

1. Log into the Postgres interactive session:

sudo -u postgres psql

2. Run the following SQL commands (Replace myproject and password with your own details):

CREATE DATABASE myproject;
CREATE USER myprojectuser WITH PASSWORD 'password123';
-- Recommended settings for Django
ALTER ROLE myprojectuser SET client_encoding TO 'utf8';
ALTER ROLE myprojectuser SET default_transaction_isolation TO 'read committed';
ALTER ROLE myprojectuser SET timezone TO 'UTC';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE myproject TO myprojectuser;

3. Exit the database console:

\q

Step 4: Clone Project and Create Virtual Environment

1. Navigate to the home directory and clone your code:

cd /home
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME/YOUR_REPO_NAME.git
cd YOUR_REPO_NAME

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

3. Install your project dependencies and Gunicorn:

pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install gunicorn psycopg2-binary

Step 5: Configure Django Settings

     You need to tweak your settings.py file for production. Open it using the nano editor:

nano YOUR_PROJECT_NAME/settings.py

Make these changes:

1. Allowed Hosts: Add your domain and server IP.

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['your_domain.com', 'YOUR_SERVER_IP']

• Database: Update the DATABASES section with the Postgres details you created in Step 3.
• Static Files: Add this line at the bottom to tell Django where to put static files:

STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static')

1. Debug: Set DEBUG = False.

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter).

Now, apply migrations and collect static files:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py collectstatic

Step 6: Configure Gunicorn

Gunicorn acts as the bridge between the internet and your Python code. We will set it up as a system service so it runs in the background automatically.

1. Create a Socket File:

   sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gunicorn.socket

              Paste this content:

Ini, TOML

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn socket
[Socket]
ListenStream=/run/gunicorn.sock
[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target

2. Create a Service File:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gunicorn.service

Paste this content (Make sure to check the paths!):

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn daemon
Requires=gunicorn.socket
After=network.target
[Service]
User=root
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/home/YOUR_REPO_NAME
ExecStart=/home/YOUR_REPO_NAME/venv/bin/gunicorn \
         --access-logfile - \
         --workers 3 \
         --bind unix:/run/gunicorn.sock \
         YOUR_PROJECT_NAME.wsgi:application
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

3. Start and Enable Gunicorn:

sudo systemctl start gunicorn.socket
sudo systemctl enable gunicorn.socket

Step 7: Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

Nginx will face the public internet, handle static files (CSS/Images), and pass requests to Gunicorn.

1. Create a new configuration file:

   sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject

             2.  Paste the following configuration:

 server {
     listen 80;
     server_name your_domain.com YOUR_SERVER_IP;
     location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
     
     # Handling Static Files
     location /static/ {
        root /home/YOUR_REPO_NAME;
     }
     # Passing traffic to Gunicorn
     location / {
         include proxy_params;
         proxy_pass http://unix:/run/gunicorn.sock;
     }
 }

3. Enable the site by creating a symbolic link:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject /etc/nginx/sites-enabled

4. Test Nginx for errors and restart:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 8: Security (Firewall & SSL)

Finally, let's secure the server.

1. Firewall (UFW): Allow Nginx traffic and enable the firewall.

 sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
 sudo ufw enable

              2.SSL Certificate (HTTPS): We will use Certbot to get a free SSL certificate.

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d your_domain.com

Follow the prompts, and Certbot will automatically configure HTTPS for you.

Conclusion

Congratulations! 🎉 Your Django application is now successfully deployed on DigitalOcean. You can visit https://your_domain.com and see your live website.

Pro Tip: If you update your code in the future, just run git pull inside your project folder and restart Gunicorn using: sudo systemctl restart gunicorn

Troubleshooting

• 502 Bad Gateway: This usually means Gunicorn is not running. Check the logs: sudo journalctl -u gunicorn.
• Static files missing: Ensure STATIC_ROOT is set correctly in settings.py and that you ran collectstatic.
• Database connection error: Double-check your database name and password in settings.py.