How To Deploy a Django project on an Ubuntu server with Nginx

Here’s a general outline of How to Deploy a Django project on an Ubuntu server with Nginx:

1. Server Setup:

   • Start by setting up an Ubuntu server.
   • SSH into the server as the root user or a user with sudo privileges.

2. Install Required Software:

   • Update your system’s package list:

     sudo apt update

   • Install necessary packages:

     sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv nginx

3. Create a Virtual Environment:

   • Navigate to your project’s root directory:

     cd /PATH/TO/MY_PROJECT

   • Create a virtual environment:

     python3 -m venv MY_PROJECT_ENV

   • Activate the virtual environment:

     source MY_PROJECT_ENV/bin/activate

4. Install Dependencies:

   • Install your project’s dependencies using pip:

     pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Configure Gunicorn:

   • Install Gunicorn (a WSGI HTTP server for running Django):

     pip install gunicorn

   • Create a Gunicorn service file in `/etc/systemd/system/MY_PROJECT_gunicorn.service`:

     [Unit]
     Description=gunicorn daemon for MY_PROJECT
     After=network.target
     
     [Service]
     User=YOUR_USERNAME
     Group=YOUR_GROUP
     WorkingDirectory=/PATH/TO/MY_PROJECT
     ExecStart=/PATH/TO/MY_PROJECT/MY_PROJECT_ENV/bin/gunicorn --workers 3 --bind unix:/PATH/TO/MY_PROJECT/MY_PROJECT.sock MY_PROJECT.wsgi:application
     
     [Install]
     WantedBy=multi-user.target

     Replace `YOUR_USERNAME`, `YOUR_GROUP`, `/PATH/TO/MY_PROJECT`, `MY_PROJECT_ENV`, and `MY_PROJECT` with your actual values.

   • Start and enable the Gunicorn service:

     sudo systemctl start MY_PROJECT_gunicorn
     sudo systemctl enable MY_PROJECT_gunicorn

6. Configure Nginx:

   • Create an Nginx server block configuration in `/etc/nginx/sites-available/MY_PROJECT`

     server {
         listen 80;
         server_name my_domain.com www.my_domain.com;
     
         location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
         location /static/ {
             root /PATH/TO/MY_PROJECT;
         }
     
         location / {
             include proxy_params;
             proxy_pass http://unix:/PATH/TO/MY_PROJECT/MY_PROJECT.sock;
         }
     }

   • Link the configuration to the `sites-enabled` directory:

     sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_project_name /etc/nginx/sites-enabled

   • Test the Nginx configuration:

     sudo nginx -t

   • Restart Nginx:

     sudo systemctl restart nginx

7. Collect Static Files:

   • Collect static files:

     python manage.py collectstatic

8. SSL Certificate (Optional):

   For HTTPS, consider obtaining an SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt using Certbot.

9. Start Your Application:

   • Restart Gunicorn service:

     sudo systemctl restart MY_PROJECT_gunicorn

   • Restart Nginx:

     sudo systemctl restart nginx

Your Django project should now be deployed and accessible through Nginx on your Ubuntu server. Remember that these are general steps; you might need to adapt them to your specific project structure and requirements.