Django Blog CMS Project in Python

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Django Blog CMS in Python

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About the project: This is a guide to creating a basic Blog Content Management System (CMS) using the Django framework. The project will allow you to create, view, and manage blog posts.

It is to get started on a Django Blog CMS project. However, a complete Django application is not contained in a single file. It requires a specific project structure with multiple files for models, views, templates, and URL routing.

Project Level: Advance

Project Overview

  • Models: Define the structure for your blog posts (e.g., title, author, content).
  • Admin: Register your models with the Django admin interface to easily create and edit blog posts.
  • Views: Handle the logic for displaying blog posts and the main page.
  • URLs: Map URLs to the correct views.
  • Templates: Use HTML files to render the content.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have Python installed. Then, install Django using pip:


    pip install django

Getting Started

1. Create the Project

Open your terminal or command prompt and run these commands to set up the project and a new application:


  	django-admin startproject blog_project
	cd blog_project
	python manage.py startapp blog

2. Update settings.py

Open the blog_project/settings.py file and add 'blog' to the INSTALLED_APPS list.


  # blog_project/settings.py

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'blog',  # Add your new app here
]

# ... rest of the file

3. Create the Blog Post Model

Now, create the database model for your blog posts in blog/models.py. This model will define the fields for each post.


  # blog/models.py

from django.db import models
from django.utils import timezone
from django.contrib.auth.models import User

class Post(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    content = models.TextField()
    pub_date = models.DateTimeField(default=timezone.now)
    author = models.ForeignKey(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

4. Register the Model in the Admin Interface

To manage your posts easily, register the Post model with the Django admin site. Open blog/admin.py and add the following code:


  # blog/admin.py

from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Post

admin.site.register(Post)

5. Create Views

Views contain the logic for your application. In blog/views.py, you will create a view to display all posts on a single page.


  # blog/views.py

from django.shortcuts import render
from .models import Post

def post_list(request):
    posts = Post.objects.all().order_by('-pub_date')
    return render(request, 'blog/post_list.html', {'posts': posts})

6. Set Up URL Routing

URLs connect your views to a specific address. First, create a new file blog/urls.py and add this code: 


  # blog/urls.py

from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.post_list, name='post_list'),
]

Next, include this new URL file in the main project's urls.py.


  # blog_project/urls.py

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('', include('blog.urls')), # Include the blog app URLs here
]

7. Create HTML Templates

Finally, create a directory for your templates and the HTML file to display the blog posts.

Create the following directory structure: blog_project/blog/templates/blog/

Inside this final directory, create a new file named post_list.html:

  
  

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My Blog</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Latest Blog Posts</h1>
    {% for post in posts %}
    <div style="border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
        <h2>{{ post.title }}</h2>
        <p>By {{ post.author.username }} on {{ post.pub_date }}</p>
        <div>{{ post.content|linebreaks }}</div>
    </div>
    {% empty %}
    <p>No posts are available.</p>
    {% endfor %}
</body>
</html>

Running the Project

Now you are ready to run the project. In your terminal, from the blog_project directory, execute these commands:

  1. Migrate the database: This creates the necessary tables for your models. 
    
      python manage.py makemigrations
		python manage.py migrate
  2. Create an admin user: You'll need an account to create posts. python manage.py createsuperuser
  3. Run the server: 
    
      python manage.py runserver

Now, navigate to http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/ to log in and start creating your first blog posts!



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