From Local App to Real Website

A simple project note about moving DevJournal from a local Django app to a real website on the internet.

DevJournal started as a local Django project.

At first, the project worked only on a computer. It was possible to open it in the browser with a local address. This was good for development, but it was not a real public website.

The next step was to prepare the project for deployment. This means that the project had to work on a server, not only on a local machine.

A VPS was used for this project. A VPS is a virtual server. It works like a small Linux computer in the cloud. The project files, database, and web server can run there.

Docker helped to run the project in a clear way. The Django app and PostgreSQL database run in containers. This makes the setup more stable and easier to repeat.

Gunicorn is used to run the Django application. It is better for production than the development server. The development server is useful for learning, but it is not the right tool for a real website.

Nginx is used in front of Gunicorn. It receives requests from users and sends them to the Django app. It also helps serve static and media files.

A domain name was also connected to the server. This is better than using only an IP address. A real domain makes the project look more complete.

HTTPS was added with a free SSL certificate. This makes the website more secure and shows a lock icon in the browser.

This process had many steps, but each step had a clear role. The local app became a real website with a domain, HTTPS, Docker, PostgreSQL, Gunicorn, and Nginx.

This was an important step for DevJournal. Now the project is not only code on a computer. It is a working website that other people can open.