On this website, we’ve talked a lot about the pros and cons of the Python programming language, but how does that apply to a popular web framework like Django?
Django is a Python-based free and open-source web framework, which helps us to create complex, database-driven websites. Django is considered the best Python web framework. Pinterest, The Washington Post, Dropbox, and Spotify are some of the best Django apps.
Why use Django for your project? What are the advantages of using Django to create web applications?. I’ve done a little research on the topic and put together a list of the pros of Django.
1. Django has the Model View Template Architecture
Django has a Model-View-Template (MVT) architecture. The MVT (Model View Template) is a software design pattern. It is a collection of three essential components Model, View, and Template. These three layers are responsible for different things and can be used independently.
The Model helps to handle databases. It is a data access layer, which contains the required fields and behaviors of the data you’re storing. There’s hardly an application without a database. The Django framework officially supports four databases, namely, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and Oracle.
A model is a Python class, and it does not know anything about other Django layers. An application programming interface (API) is the only means used to communicate between layers.
Models help developers to create, read, update, and delete objects (CRUD operations) in the original database. Also, they hold business logic, custom methods, properties, and other things related to data manipulation.
The View is used to execute the business logic and interact with a model to carry data and renders a template. The view fetches data from a model. Then, it either gives each template access to specific data to be displayed, or it processes data beforehand.
It accepts HTTP requests, applies business logic provided by Python classes and methods, and provides HTTP responses to the client requests.
The Template is a presentation layer that handles the User Interface part completely. These are files with HTML code, which is used to render data. The contents of these files can be static or dynamic. A template is used only to present data since there’s no business logic in it.
Why do we need MVT? Well, for a web application, we have data, layout, and logic. Sometimes, we can create all these in a single file. But, for large web applications, it is always better to use these three components separately.
That’s why we use Model-View-Template architecture. It is called the separation of concerns in software development. The model will work with data, the View will work with logic, and the Template will work with layouts.
Also, MVT architecture makes the whole process of transmitting over the Internet simpler and faster.
2. Django is Highly Secure
When we make web applications in Django, it makes sure that developers don’t commit any mistakes related to security. It will be pretty difficult to find security loopholes in Django, even in the user authentication system.
The framework has protection against the most common security attacks like XSS and CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) attacks, SQL injections, Clickjacking, etc. The user authentication system of Django is also solid, to manage usernames and passwords.
Also, Django hides your website’s source code. Django notifies of several common security mistakes better than PHP. While transmitting data, Django automatically encrypts the passwords and all the essential information with a security key.
3. Django is Powered by Python
Python is one of the most top-notch programming languages due to its ease of learning, popularity, and power. It is the most popular language at the present time, and for all those Pythonistats, Django is the perfect web development framework.
In the case of Django, everything is explicit, following the mentioned Zen of Python, where it is always better than implicit. The Zen of Python is a collection of some guiding principles for writing computer programs that influence the design of the Python programming language. In Django, you have to configure it first. It’s the opposite of convention over configuration.
For all the programmers who are used to code in Python, Django will be pretty easy to learn. Even though the Flask web framework is much easier than Django, it is not the best framework when it comes to large-scale web application development. Django is the best framework for more complex web apps.
Python is very easy to read, and that’s the main design philosophy behind the creation of Python. If you are an admirer of that philosophy, then you will love Django. Also, it will be easy for you to integrate machine learning functionalities into your web applications because Python is the most used language in the AI field.
4. Django Provides a Default Admin Panel
When I was doing my college mini-project for my CS degree, I developed a web application. I was using PHP at that time, and I developed the admin interface of the web app totally from scratch. Admin panels are designed to help you manage your application.
It blew my mind when I realized that Django automatically comes up with an admin interface. You don’t need to write any code to create it. Django gives you everything by default and hence reduces a lot of development time.
Django allows you to modify the admin panel with third-party wrappers and add dashboards uniquely for your needs. Additionally, there is a lot of room for customization in the Django admin interface, thanks to third-party applications.
Creating an admin panel by yourself is pointless and takes a lot of time. So, if you’re using Django, it is a great advantage to have a default admin panel.
When I realized the power of Django, I stopped using PHP as my server-side language, and I switched to Django. Even though there is a small learning curve, it will be simple once you pass that phase. Django framework is for perfectionists with deadlines. If you’re a programmer like that, then Django is the best web development framework for you.
5. Django has a Great Set of Libraries
Every programming language or framework comes up with its own set of libraries for solving typical tasks. A software library is a collection of programs and software packages made generally available, often loaded and stored on disk, for immediate use. It includes prewritten code, classes, methods, configuration data, and more.
A software library helps to add more functionality to a program or to automate a process without manually writing a new piece of code. It reduces a lot of development time.
When it comes to the extensive set of libraries, Python is a rich programming language. Even Django has many libraries to make things easy for you.
Some of the popular libraries include the Django REST framework (responsible for building application programming interfaces), Django CMS (designed to manage website content), and Django-allauth (an integrated set of Django applications for authentication, registration, account management, and third-party (social) account authentication).
There are several other libraries available for Django developers. These libraries are indeed helpful for Python web developers.
6. Django is Good for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Django offers several useful SEO tools. Django provides a module called the Django SEO framework, which developers can use to reduce page loading time by using cached templates and compressing CSS and JavaScript.
Django even provides a tool to manage robots.txt. However, it may not be as good as WordPress (the most used CMS software for blogging) when it comes to SEO. But, Django is one of the best frameworks for search engine optimization, compared to other web development frameworks.
The capabilities of the Django CMS exceed the expectations of many professional SEO specialists. With Django, you can generate readable website URLs and links using the most relevant keywords (don’t stuff them) and SEO best practices.
7. Django Provides Object Relational Mapper(ORM)
Django ORM provides an elegant and powerful way to interact with the database in an Object-Oriented fashion. ORM is a library that automatically transfers data stored in databases into objects commonly used in application code.
You don’t need to write specific SQL queries to create tables and insert data. When a class is defined, ORM generates a table for the class automatically. This table contains fields for all the variables inside the class. Also, the table adds rows automatically when we create objects.
ORM is an excellent concept by which you can directly create tables using classes and add data with the help of objects of the class.
The ability of the Django ORM to extract information speeds up the web application development process. It also helps developers to make working prototypes in no time.
Developers don’t necessarily have to know the language used for database communication to manipulate data such as the structured query language (SQL).
Django ORM is compatible with several popular databases, but the key feature of it is that it allows developers to work with many databases at once.
Django’s ORM helps developers switch between relational databases with minimal code changes. Django makes it possible to migrate from one database to another and perform common operations without having to write much additional code.
8. Django Offers Rapid Development
Django helps the developers to make an application as fast as possible. Django helps in creating web apps, both cost-effective and efficient. Thus it becomes an ideal solution for programmers with deadlines.
The MVT architecture of Django helps to work on different components parallelly, and we can integrate them much more efficiently. Also, writing Python code, which doesn’t need too many rules, is simple.
Developers can use the built-in features of Django to create web applications for any industry. Django concentrates on the Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY) philosophy.
It motivates developers to reuse code they’ve written for other projects, further reducing the time needed to develop your product. The software is constantly updated, and new packages are released to make working with Django more convenient than it already is.
9. Django is Highly Scalable
It is yet another benefit of using Django for building web apps. Depending on your specific product requirements, development can be scaled up or down, altering the number and complexity of Django components as necessary.
Django can handle any hardware additions. Also, it is capable of meeting massive traffic demands. It is the main reason why websites like Instagram, Pinterest, Disqus, etc., use the Django framework.
Django can handle traffic and mobile app API usage of more than 400 million users, helping maximize scalability and minimize web hosting costs. Many third-party applications come with Django. These applications can be integrated, depending on project requirements.
Django is pluggable by nature. Developers can use plugins to extend the web application. Plugins are software components that allow developers to add a specific feature to an app, thereby providing a lot of scope for customization.
There are hundreds of packages available for lots of purposes. You can find a ton of packages here. Also, if you want to scale your project in the future, you can unplug some components and replace them with others that meet your current needs.
This scalability of Django makes it one of the best choices for many large-scale web applications in the software world.
10. Django has Good Documentation and Tutorials
The Django framework has a lot of good quality documentation. Also, a lot of content in the form of articles, tutorials, and video courses is freely available online for learning Django. So, there is no difficulty in finding high-quality learning materials.
The official documentation of Django itself is pretty good in quality. The framework has fabulous community support, and a lot of developers are out there to help newbies.
Django came into existence more than a decade ago. It has gone through stages of significant improvement in the past. When you’re trying to figure out how something should work in Django, you can usually find the answer pretty quickly.
Thousands of Django developers must have already solved any issue you’re dealing with, and you can find a solution provided by the passionate Django community.
So, you won’t feel stuck in learning Django. As Liverpool F.C fans say, you will never walk alone.
11. Django follows Batteries-Included Philosophy
Django follows Python’s “batteries-included” philosophy. What does that mean? It means that Django provides the resources required by developers built-in.
The framework has a rich and versatile standard library that is immediately available, without making the user download separate packages. It gives you vital tools for creating rich, complex systems based on the available open-source solutions.
Django ORM, Middlewares, Authentication, HTTP libraries, Multi-site support, Django Admin, template engine, etc., are some of the batteries provided by Django. The batteries-included approach helps developers to diminish web application development time significantly.
Django: Advantages vs Disadvantages
The below table lists the various advantages and disadvantages of the Django web framework.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Django has the MVT architecture | Django can’t handle multiple requests at the same time |
| Django is highly secure | Django is not the easiest option for small projects |
| Django is powered by Python | Components in Django are packed tightly |
| Django provides a default admin panel | Knowledge of the entire system is needed to work with Django |
| It has a great set of libraries | The ORM system lacks features |
| Django is good for search engine optimization | The URL specifying with regular expressions is not easy |
| Django provides ORM | Django is monolithic |
| Django offers rapid development | |
| Django is highly scalable | |
| It has good documentation and tutorials | |
| Django follows batteries-included philosophy |
Conclusion
Choosing a web development framework is a big deal. I listed some of the main reasons why I like to use Django as my go-to weapon for creating web apps. I hope these advantages made it clear that Django is one of the best choices out there.
If you’re already a Django developer, do you think that I miss something in this article? I know there are a lot more advantages to Django, which I couldn’t point out in this article. If you would like to share something like that, then go ahead and comment down below.
If you have any doubts or queries about Django, feel free to let me know in the comments. I will be happy to help you.
If you’re looking to do your next project using the Django framework, I want you to check out this resource. I’ve written an article that lists out 12 Django Project Ideas which you can take and implement right away.
I spent a long time making this article. I would appreciate it if you would be willing to share it. It will encourage me to create more useful tutorials like this.
Happy coding!
Also one more advantage is that we can provide our own URL’s and set path accordingly
correct me if I’m wrong..!!