Blog Project: Setup

In this tutorial, we'll set up the Django project structure and configure everything needed to start building our blog.

Step 1: Create Virtual Environment

First, let's create a virtual environment to isolate our project dependencies:

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv blog_env

# Activate virtual environment
# On Windows:
blog_env\Scripts\activate
# On macOS/Linux:
source blog_env/bin/activate

Step 2: Install Django

Install Django and other required packages:

pip install django
pip install pillow  # For image handling

Step 3: Create Django Project

Create a new Django project called blog_project:

django-admin startproject blog_project .

The . at the end creates the project in the current directory. Your structure should look like:

blog_project/
├── manage.py
├── blog_project/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   ├── wsgi.py
│   └── asgi.py
└── blog_env/

Step 4: Create Blog App

Create the main blog application:

python manage.py startapp blog

Create the accounts app for user authentication:

python manage.py startapp accounts

Step 5: Configure Settings

Open blog_project/settings.py and make the following changes:

Add Apps to INSTALLED_APPS

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    # Our apps
    'blog',
    'accounts',
]

Configure Static Files

Add these settings for static files (CSS, JavaScript, images):

# Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images)
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATICFILES_DIRS = [
    BASE_DIR / 'static',
]
STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'staticfiles'

# Media files (user uploads)
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'media'

Set Time Zone

TIME_ZONE = 'UTC'
USE_TZ = True

Configure Templates

Update the TEMPLATES setting to include the BASE_DIR:

TEMPLATES = [
    {
        'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
        'DIRS': [BASE_DIR / 'templates'],
        'APP_DIRS': True,
        # ... rest of settings
    },
]

Step 6: Create Directory Structure

Create the necessary directories:

# Create directories
mkdir templates
mkdir static
mkdir static/css
mkdir static/js
mkdir static/images
mkdir media

Your project structure should now look like:

blog_project/
├── manage.py
├── blog_project/
│   ├── settings.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── ...
├── blog/
│   ├── models.py
│   ├── views.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── ...
├── accounts/
│   ├── models.py
│   ├── views.py
│   └── ...
├── templates/
├── static/
│   ├── css/
│   ├── js/
│   └── images/
└── media/

Step 7: Configure Main URLs

Update blog_project/urls.py to include media files in development:

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include
from django.conf import settings
from django.conf.urls.static import static

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('', include('blog.urls')),
    path('accounts/', include('accounts.urls')),
]

# Serve media files in development
if settings.DEBUG:
    urlpatterns += static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT)
    urlpatterns += static(settings.STATIC_URL, document_root=settings.STATIC_ROOT)

Step 8: Run Initial Migrations

Django comes with built-in apps that need database tables. Run migrations:

python manage.py migrate

Step 9: Create Superuser

Create an admin user to access the Django admin panel:

python manage.py createsuperuser

Follow the prompts to create your admin account.

Step 10: Test the Setup

Start the development server:

python manage.py runserver

Visit: - Homepage: http://127.0.0.1:8000/ - Admin Panel: http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/

You should see Django's default welcome page and be able to log into the admin panel.

Project Checklist

✅ Virtual environment created and activated
✅ Django installed
✅ Project and apps created
✅ Settings configured
✅ Directory structure created
✅ URLs configured
✅ Migrations run
✅ Superuser created
✅ Server running

Common Issues

Issue: ModuleNotFoundError

Solution: Make sure your virtual environment is activated and Django is installed.

Issue: Port Already in Use

Solution: Use a different port:

python manage.py runserver 8001

Issue: Static Files Not Loading

Solution: Make sure STATICFILES_DIRS is configured correctly in settings.py.

What's Next?

Now that our project is set up, we'll create the database models for our blog posts, categories, and comments.

!!! success "Setup Complete!" Your Django project is ready. In the next tutorial, we'll design and create the database models.

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Previous Tutorial: Project Overview
Next Tutorial: Database Models