Build a Django Blog from Scratch: Step‑by‑Step Setup Guide

After noticing that many Chinese Django tutorials are based on very old versions, the author decided to create a practical series using the latest Django release to help beginners avoid compatibility issues.

Case Introduction

In this hands‑on project we will build a complete blog site from scratch, covering development setup to production deployment across several articles. It assumes you already know basic Django concepts.

Basic Part

Install Django and set up an isolated development environment.

Create the project and configure the database.

Create a blog app and define its models.

Set up the admin backend for the blog.

Use Bootstrap with Django templates and views to build the front‑end pages.

Add pagination.

Enhanced Part

Implement email sending functionality.

Create and process forms.

Build model‑based forms.

Integrate third‑party applications.

Construct complex querysets.

Further Extensions

Create custom template tags.

Create custom template filters.

Add a site map.

Add subscription features.

Build an internal search engine using Solr and Haystack.

Version Information

python==2.7+

django==1.8.6

virtualenv==13.1.2

Set Up Isolated Development Environment

The first step is to create a clean, isolated Python environment to avoid contaminating the system Python and to manage version control.

1. Create a New Directory

2. Create a Virtual Environment in the New Directory

Run virtualenv venv --no-site-packages to create a clean environment without any pre‑installed third‑party packages.

The venv folder now contains bin, include, and lib directories, forming a new, clean, isolated Python runtime.

3. Activate the Environment

Execute the following command to activate the environment:

When the command line shows a (venv) prefix, the environment is active, and any installed packages will reside in venv/lib/python2.7/site-packages/. Deactivate with deactivate.

Install Django

With the isolated environment ready, install Django 1.8.6 using:

pip install Django==1.8.6

Installation creates Django-1.8.6.dist-info/ and a django/ folder under venv/lib/python2.7/site-packages/.

Verify Installation

Method 1: pip list – you should see Django (1.8.6).

Method 2: Open a Python shell and run:

import django; print(django.get_version())

If the version prints correctly, Django is successfully installed.

Author: 地球的外星人君 Source: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/28125085