A website, in simpler terms, is a way for people to interact with data.
So where does the data live, and who takes care of it? That's where database softwares comes in handy, like MySQL or PostgreSQL.
To make the interaction between people and data happen, someone needs to write the rules for that interaction. That's what Django does.
Django handles the website's logic (the rules for interaction), while the database (like PostgreSQL) stores the data. With these two, you can already run your website on your own computer.
But this only works on a computer.
If you want everyone, on any devices, to be able to visit your site, you need to connect your website to the internet — just like putting your house on a street. For that , you need to put it on a computer that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That computer is called a server.
You can use an old computer that you leave on at all times, or you can rent a cloud server from a cloud provider like OVH or AWS.
Once you have a server, you can deploy your website on it. There are two things you need to do:
Firstly: You need a tool that takes Django and makes it ready to serve the outside world. One common tool is uWSGI. It manages how Django runs – for example, handling many people visiting at the same time, managing memory, and keeping the site from getting stuck. There are other tools that do the same job, but uWSGI is a popular choice.
Second thing: You need to install a "doorman". A popular doorman tool is Nginx. The doorman stands at the very front, greeting every visitor's browser. If a visitor asks for something ready-made, like an image or a stylesheet, the doorman hands it to them directly. If the visitor asks for something dynamic (like viewing a personal homepage or submitting a form), the doorman passes the request to the inner tools (like uWSGI and Django) to handle it. The doorman can also help with security and handle heavy traffic.
Finally, for people to visit your website, they need to know the address – just like you need a street address to send a letter. That "street address" is called a domain name, like luluma.xyz. You need to buy a domain name from places like Namecheap or GoDaddy.
After you buy the domain name, you need to point it to your server (this is done in your domain registrar's control panel – where you bought the name). This is called DNS resolution – it's like translating the name into the server's numeric address).
Then you need to add a security lock to your site (so the address starts with https), which makes it safer for people to visit. A tool like certbot can help you do that.
Once you've followed these steps, your website is ready to go.