☁️ Hosting Platforms for Django

? Quick Overview

Choosing a hosting platform is a critical decision for deploying your Django application. Platforms like Heroku, DigitalOcean, AWS, and PythonAnywhere offer different trade-offs in terms of simplicity, control, scalability, and cost.

? Key Concepts

• PaaS vs IaaS hosting models
• Scalability and resource management
• Deployment automation
• Cost and pricing models

? Syntax / Theory

Django deployment usually involves configuring an application server (Gunicorn), a web server (Nginx), environment variables, static files, and a production database.

? Code Example — Heroku Deployment

# Procfile tells Heroku how to start Django
web: gunicorn myproject.wsgi

? Code Example — DigitalOcean Setup

# Install core dependencies on a Droplet
sudo apt install python3-pip nginx

? Code Example — AWS EC2

# Run Django development server for testing
python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

? Code Example — PythonAnywhere

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

? Live Output / Explanation

Once deployed, your Django application becomes accessible via a public URL. Each platform manages routing, scaling, and uptime differently.

?️ Interactive / Visual Explanation

Not sure which one to pick? Use this interactive recommender based on your project needs.

? Use Cases

• Heroku: Quick demos and prototypes
• DigitalOcean: Small to medium production apps
• AWS: Enterprise-grade, high-traffic systems
• PythonAnywhere: Learning and small Django projects