Part 7: Deploying to PythonAnywhere

Introduction In this final part, we'll walk through deploying our Django Project Budget Manager to PythonAnywhere, a popular platform for hosting Python web applications. We'll cover each step in detail to ensure a smooth deployment process. Prerequisites Create a PythonAnywhere account: Visit www.pythonanywhere.com Sign up for a free account (or choose a paid plan for more features) Prepare your project: # Create requirements.txt pip freeze > requirements.txt # Create runtime.txt (specify Python version) echo "python-3.9" > runtime.txt Step 1: Configure Production Settings Create a production settings file: # config/settings/production.py from .base import * # SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production! DEBUG = False # Allow only your PythonAnywhere domain ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourusername.pythonanywhere.com'] # Security settings SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT = True SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = True CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = True SECURE_BROWSER_XSS_FILTER = True SECURE_CONTENT_TYPE_NOSNIFF = True X_FRAME_OPTIONS = 'DENY' # Static files configuration STATIC_ROOT = '/home/yourusername/project_budget/staticfiles' MEDIA_ROOT = '/home/yourusername/project_budget/media' # Database configuration (using MySQL on PythonAnywhere) DATABASES = { 'default': { 'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql', 'NAME': 'yourusername$project_budget', 'USER': 'yourusername', 'PASSWORD': 'your-mysql-password', 'HOST': 'yourusername.mysql.pythonanywhere-services.com', 'OPTIONS': { 'init_command': "SET sql_mode='STRICT_TRANS_TABLES'", }, } } # Email configuration (using SMTP) EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend' EMAIL_HOST = 'smtp.gmail.com' EMAIL_PORT = 587 EMAIL_USE_TLS = True EMAIL_HOST_USER = 'your-email@gmail.com' EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = 'your-app-specific-password' Step 2: Upload Project to PythonAnywhere Open a Bash console on PythonAnywhere and clone your repository: # Navigate to home directory cd ~ # Clone your repository git clone https://github.com/yourusername/project_budget.git # Create virtual environment mkvirtualenv --python=/usr/bin/python3.9 project_budget # Activate virtual environment workon project_budget # Install dependencies pip install -r project_budget/requirements.txt Create necessary directories: mkdir ~/project_budget/staticfiles mkdir ~/project_budget/media Step 3: Configure PythonAnywhere Web App Go to the Web tab in PythonAnywhere dashboard Click "Add a new web app" and choose: Your domain name (e.g., yourusername.pythonanywhere.com) Python version (3.9) Manual configuration Configure the virtual environment: Virtual environment path: /home/yourusername/.virtualenvs/project_budget Configure WSGI file (/var/www/yourusername_pythonanywhere_com_wsgi.py): import os import sys # Add project directory to Python path path = '/home/yourusername/project_budget' if path not in sys.path: sys.path.append(path) # Set environment variables os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = 'config.settings.production' os.environ['SECRET_KEY'] = 'your-secret-key' # Initialize Django from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application application = get_wsgi_application() Configure static files in the Web tab: URL: /static/ Directory: /home/yourusername/project_budget/staticfiles URL: /media/ Directory: /home/yourusername/project_budget/media Step 4: Set Up Database Go to the Databases tab and create a MySQL database: CREATE DATABASE yourusername$project_budget CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci; Set a password for your MySQL database Apply migrations: cd ~/project_budget python manage.py migrate Create a superuser: python manage.py createsuperuser Step 5: Collect Static Files python manage.py collectstatic Step 6: Final Configuration Set up environment variables in the Web tab: Click on the "Environment variables" section Add the following variables: DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.production SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key DATABASE_URL=mysql://yourusername:password@yourusername.mysql.pythonanywhere-services.com/yourusername$project_budget Enable HTTPS: In the Web tab, enable "Force HTTPS" Reload your web app Testing the Deployment Visit your site at https://yourusername.pythonanywhere.com Test the following: User registration and login Project creation and management File uploads Email functionality Common Issues and Solutions Static files not loading Check STATIC_ROOT and MEDIA_ROOT paths Run collectstatic again Verify static files configuration in Web tab Database connection errors Verify database credentials Check database configuration in s

Mar 24, 2025 - 11:24

Introduction

In this final part, we'll walk through deploying our Django Project Budget Manager to PythonAnywhere, a popular platform for hosting Python web applications. We'll cover each step in detail to ensure a smooth deployment process.

Prerequisites

Create a PythonAnywhere account:
- Visit www.pythonanywhere.com
- Sign up for a free account (or choose a paid plan for more features)
Prepare your project:

   # Create requirements.txt
   pip freeze > requirements.txt

   # Create runtime.txt (specify Python version)
   echo "python-3.9" > runtime.txt

Step 1: Configure Production Settings

Create a production settings file:

# config/settings/production.py

from .base import *

# SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
DEBUG = False

# Allow only your PythonAnywhere domain
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourusername.pythonanywhere.com']

# Security settings
SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT = True
SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = True
CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = True
SECURE_BROWSER_XSS_FILTER = True
SECURE_CONTENT_TYPE_NOSNIFF = True
X_FRAME_OPTIONS = 'DENY'

# Static files configuration
STATIC_ROOT = '/home/yourusername/project_budget/staticfiles'
MEDIA_ROOT = '/home/yourusername/project_budget/media'

# Database configuration (using MySQL on PythonAnywhere)
DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
        'NAME': 'yourusername$project_budget',
        'USER': 'yourusername',
        'PASSWORD': 'your-mysql-password',
        'HOST': 'yourusername.mysql.pythonanywhere-services.com',
        'OPTIONS': {
            'init_command': "SET sql_mode='STRICT_TRANS_TABLES'",
        },
    }
}

# Email configuration (using SMTP)
EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend'
EMAIL_HOST = 'smtp.gmail.com'
EMAIL_PORT = 587
EMAIL_USE_TLS = True
EMAIL_HOST_USER = 'your-email@gmail.com'
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = 'your-app-specific-password'

Step 2: Upload Project to PythonAnywhere

Open a Bash console on PythonAnywhere and clone your repository:

   # Navigate to home directory
   cd ~

   # Clone your repository
   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/project_budget.git

   # Create virtual environment
   mkvirtualenv --python=/usr/bin/python3.9 project_budget

   # Activate virtual environment
   workon project_budget

   # Install dependencies
   pip install -r project_budget/requirements.txt

Create necessary directories:

   mkdir ~/project_budget/staticfiles
   mkdir ~/project_budget/media

Step 3: Configure PythonAnywhere Web App

Go to the Web tab in PythonAnywhere dashboard
Click "Add a new web app" and choose:
- Your domain name (e.g., yourusername.pythonanywhere.com)
- Python version (3.9)
- Manual configuration
Configure the virtual environment:
- Virtual environment path: /home/yourusername/.virtualenvs/project_budget
Configure WSGI file (/var/www/yourusername_pythonanywhere_com_wsgi.py):

   import os
   import sys

   # Add project directory to Python path
   path = '/home/yourusername/project_budget'
   if path not in sys.path:
       sys.path.append(path)

   # Set environment variables
   os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = 'config.settings.production'
   os.environ['SECRET_KEY'] = 'your-secret-key'

   # Initialize Django
   from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application
   application = get_wsgi_application()

Configure static files in the Web tab:
- URL: /static/
- Directory: /home/yourusername/project_budget/staticfiles

URL: /media/
Directory: /home/yourusername/project_budget/media

Step 4: Set Up Database

Go to the Databases tab and create a MySQL database:

   CREATE DATABASE yourusername$project_budget CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

Set a password for your MySQL database
Apply migrations:

   cd ~/project_budget
   python manage.py migrate

Create a superuser:

   python manage.py createsuperuser

Step 5: Collect Static Files

python manage.py collectstatic

Step 6: Final Configuration

Set up environment variables in the Web tab:

Click on the "Environment variables" section
Add the following variables:

 DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.production
 SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
 DATABASE_URL=mysql://yourusername:password@yourusername.mysql.pythonanywhere-services.com/yourusername$project_budget

Enable HTTPS:
- In the Web tab, enable "Force HTTPS"
Reload your web app

Testing the Deployment

Visit your site at https://yourusername.pythonanywhere.com
Test the following:
- User registration and login
- Project creation and management
- File uploads
- Email functionality

Common Issues and Solutions

Static files not loading
- Check STATIC_ROOT and MEDIA_ROOT paths
- Run collectstatic again
- Verify static files configuration in Web tab
Database connection errors
- Verify database credentials
- Check database configuration in settings
- Ensure MySQL server is running
500 Server Error
- Check error logs in the Web tab
- Verify WSGI file configuration
- Check permissions on media and static directories
Email not working
- Verify email settings
- Check if your email provider allows SMTP
- Use app-specific password for Gmail

Maintenance Tasks

Updating the application:

   # Pull latest changes
   cd ~/project_budget
   git pull

   # Activate virtual environment
   workon project_budget

   # Install new dependencies
   pip install -r requirements.txt

   # Apply migrations
   python manage.py migrate

   # Collect static files
   python manage.py collectstatic

   # Reload web app from PythonAnywhere dashboard

Backing up data:

   # Backup database
   python manage.py dumpdata > backup.json

   # Backup media files
   zip -r media_backup.zip media/

Security Considerations

Keep secrets secure:
- Never commit sensitive data to version control
- Use environment variables for secrets
- Regularly rotate passwords and keys
Regular updates:
- Keep Django and other packages updated
- Monitor security advisories
- Apply security patches promptly
Monitor logs:
- Check access logs regularly
- Monitor error logs
- Set up alerts for suspicious activity

Additional Resources

Remember to regularly backup your database and media files, and keep your application and dependencies updated with security patches.

Getting Help

If you encounter issues during deployment:

Check the PythonAnywhere error logs
Visit the PythonAnywhere forums
Review Django deployment documentation
Join Django communities for support:
- Django Forum
- Django Discord
- Stack Overflow with tags: [django] and [pythonanywhere]