Deploy Django to Production | Django Hosting on seenode
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Deploy a Django app

Deploy a Django app

Deploy your Django app on seenode with a simple setup. Follow our quickstart guide to configure, connect Git, and go live in minutes.

New to seenode? Start free: 7-day trial, no credit card. Apps run on credit-based pricing from $3/mo.

This guide explains how to deploy your existing Django application to seenode. For a production-ready setup, we recommend using a PostgreSQL database and WhiteNoise to serve static files.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • A seenode account (sign up free)
  • Git configured on your machine
  • Existing Django project ready to deploy

Configure for seenode Deployment

Production Dependencies

For a production setup, add these packages to your requirements.txt:

requirements.txt
gunicorn
dj-database-url
psycopg2-binary # Or the appropriate adapter for your database
whitenoise

Settings Configuration

Update your settings.py for production deployment:

your_project/settings.py
import os
import dj_database_url


# Security settings
SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('SECRET_KEY')
DEBUG = os.environ.get('DEBUG', 'False').lower() == 'true'
ALLOWED_HOSTS = os.environ.get('ALLOWED_HOSTS', '').split(',')


# Database configuration
DATABASES = {
    'default': dj_database_url.config(conn_max_age=600, ssl_require=True)
}


# Static files with WhiteNoise
MIDDLEWARE = [
    'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
    'whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware', # Add WhiteNoise
    # ... other middleware
]


STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'staticfiles')
STATICFILES_STORAGE = 'whitenoise.storage.CompressedManifestStaticFilesStorage'
Tip (Environment Variables)

The following settings are configured via environment variables:

  • SECRET_KEY: Your Django secret key for cryptographic signing
  • DEBUG: Set to 'true' for development, 'false' for production
  • ALLOWED_HOSTS: Comma-separated list of allowed hostnames, for example:
    • yourdomain.com,www.yourdomain.com
    • example.com,api.example.com,www.example.com

If you’re using seenode’s default service URL, you can find your service domain in the dashboard. Without setting ALLOWED_HOSTS, Django will reject requests and return a DisallowedHost error.

Build Script

Create a build.sh script to streamline deployments:

build.sh
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# exit on error
set -o errexit


pip install -r requirements.txt


python manage.py collectstatic --no-input
python manage.py migrate

Make the script executable: chmod +x build.sh

Deploy on seenode

  1. Push to Git

    Commit your project and push it to GitHub or GitLab.

  2. Create a Database (Optional)

    If your application needs a database, create a PostgreSQL Database from the seenode Dashboard. seenode also supports MySQL.

  3. Create a Web Service

    Create a new Web Service and connect your Django project’s Git repository. Configure your build and start commands:

    • Build Command: ./build.sh
    • Start Command: gunicorn your_project.wsgi --bind 0.0.0.0:80

    The Port field defaults to 80. Set it to the value you expect Gunicorn to use (for example, 80 or 8080). You don’t need a PORT environment variable; bind Gunicorn to the exact port you configure here on 0.0.0.0.

  4. Configure Environment Variables

    Navigate to the Environment tab and link your PostgreSQL database.

    Important: You must configure the following required environment variables (as referenced in the Settings Configuration section above):

    • SECRET_KEY: Your Django secret key for cryptographic signing

    • ALLOWED_HOSTS: Comma-separated list of allowed hostnames (e.g., yourdomain.com,www.yourdomain.com). This is required for Django to accept requests from your domain.

    Without setting ALLOWED_HOSTS, your Django application will reject requests and return a DisallowedHost error.

  5. Deploy

    Click Create instance and watch logs until your web service is live.

  6. Success

    Once complete, your Django application will be accessible via your service’s URL.

Tip (Troubleshooting)

If your deployment fails, the first place to check is the Logs tab in your seenode service dashboard. Build and runtime logs often contain valuable information for diagnosing issues.

Port configuration mismatch

  • The Port field defaults to 80. Ensure your application listens on the port you set in the Configure Build & Start screen (Port input).
  • Adjust in framework config if needed (for example, update your gunicorn bind port). Do not depend on a PORT environment variable.
  • Seeing a 502 Bad Gateway? This often means your app is not listening on the configured port.

Starting from Scratch?

If you don’t have a Django project yet:

Option 1: Use our Template (Recommended)

Django Template

Deploy a Django project pre-configured with Gunicorn for production.

Option 2: Create from Django Docs + seenode Setup

Follow the official Django documentation to create a new project, then return here for seenode-specific deployment steps.

seenode-Specific Setup Steps:

  1. Create Django project: django-admin startproject your_project
  2. Install production dependencies
  3. Configure settings for seenode
  4. Create build script

Next Steps

Now that your Django application is deployed, here are some things you might want to do next:

Set up a Custom Domain

Point your own domain at your web service, with automatic HTTPS.

Connect to a Database

Instantly scaffold and connect PostgreSQL and MySQL databases

Pricing

Instance sizes, the 7-day trial, and credit-based billing.

Manage your service

Env vars, deploys, rollbacks, logs, and scaling.