Django is a high-level Python web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. In this guide, we will walk through the initial steps of setting up a Django project and creating your first app.

1. Create a Project

First, install Django and start a new project. A "Project" in Django is the container for your settings and database configuration.

BASH 
pip install django
django-admin startproject myproject

2. Verify the Installation

Enter the project directory and run the development server to ensure everything is working correctly.

BASH 
cd myproject
python manage.py runserver

3. Create an App

A Django "App" is a web application that does something, like a blog system or a poll app. A project can contain multiple apps.

BASH 
python manage.py startapp myapp

4. Register the App

Tell the project that your new app exists. Open settings.py and add your app configuration to the INSTALLED_APPS list.

PYTHON 
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ...
    'myapp.apps.MyappConfig',
]

5. Create a View

Open myapp/views.py and create a simple view that renders a template.

PYTHON 
from django.shortcuts import render

def home(request):
    return render(request, 'myapp/index.html')

6. Configure URLs

You need to map a URL to that view. First, create myapp/urls.py:

PYTHON 
from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.home, name="home"),
]

Finally, include your app's URLs in the main project's urls.py:

PYTHON 
from django.contrib import admin 
from django.urls import path, include

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