This roadmap takes you from zero Python knowledge to shipping production-ready Django apps. Each phase builds on the last — resist the urge to skip ahead. The foundation is the shortcut.
Before touching Django, get comfortable with core Python. Django is just Python — the more fluent you are, the less magic it seems.
- Variables & data types
- Functions & scope
- Lists, dicts, sets
- OOP & classes
- Modules & packages
- Error handling
- List comprehensions
- File I/O basics
- Virtual environments
- pip & requirements
Django handles HTTP — you should understand what that means. A quick pass through web fundamentals saves hours of confusion later.
- Request / Response cycle
- GET vs POST methods
- Status codes
- HTML & CSS basics
- Browser dev tools
- Cookies & sessions
The heart of the roadmap. Learn the MVT pattern, the ORM, and Django's built-in tools. Build at least two small projects here.
- Project & app structure
- URL routing
- Views (FBV & CBV)
- Templates & context
- Models & fields
- Migrations
- QuerySet API & ORM
- Django Admin
- Forms & validation
- Static & media files
- Authentication built-in
- settings.py & env vars
The ORM is powerful but has sharp edges. Understanding SQL underneath makes you a far better Django developer.
- SQL fundamentals
- PostgreSQL setup
- ForeignKey, M2M, OneToOne
- select_related / prefetch
- Aggregation & annotation
- Indexes & query plans
- Transactions
- Custom managers
Django REST Framework is the industry standard for building APIs. Most real-world Django work involves DRF in some capacity.
- Serializers
- APIView & generics
- ViewSets & Routers
- Token & JWT auth
- Permissions & throttling
- Pagination & filtering
- Nested serializers
- API versioning
A Django app that runs only on localhost isn't a product. Learn to ship it safely, reliably, and efficiently.
- Gunicorn / uWSGI
- Nginx reverse proxy
- Docker & Compose
- Environment variables
- WhiteNoise / S3 media
- Redis & Celery tasks
- Logging & Sentry
- CI/CD basics
Once you've shipped something real, these topics will become relevant naturally. Pick what your project demands.
- Channels & WebSockets
- Caching strategies
- Custom template tags
- Testing & pytest-django
- Signals
- Multi-tenancy
- GraphQL (Strawberry)
- HTMX integration