How to deploy static files in Django before hosting it anywhere? - django

Question

I have a Django application which needs to be deployed. Currently, I am not using Heroku or a Linux server to deploy it. However, I am trying to follow along with the Django checklist and ensure whether if it's ready to be deployed.
I had done the following in my settings.py module:
Set DEBUG = False
Allowed_Hosts = ['*']
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR,"staticfiles")
This is my settings.py module:
"""
DJANGO PROJECT
"""
import os
# Build paths inside the project like this: os.path.join(BASE_DIR, ...)
BASE_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
# Quick-start development settings - unsuitable for production
# See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/howto/deployment/checklist/
# SECURITY WARNING: keep the secret key used in production secret!
SECRET_KEY = 'SECRET KEY STORED IN ENVIRON VARIABLE'
# SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
DEBUG = False
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']
# Application definition
INSTALLED_APPS = [
'main.apps.MainConfig', #placing the Django app here.
'crispy_forms',
'rest_framework',
'django.contrib.admin',
'django.contrib.auth',
'django.contrib.contenttypes',
'django.contrib.sessions',
'django.contrib.messages',
'django.contrib.staticfiles',
]
MIDDLEWARE = [
'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware',
'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware',
'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware',
]
ROOT_URLCONF = 'main.urls'
TEMPLATES = [
{
'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
'DIRS': [],
'APP_DIRS': True,
'OPTIONS': {
'context_processors': [
'django.template.context_processors.debug',
'django.template.context_processors.request',
'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth',
'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages',
],
},
},
]
WSGI_APPLICATION = 'main.wsgi.application'
# Database
# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/ref/settings/#databases
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
'NAME': 'my_db', #name of the database.
'USER' : '######',
'PASSWORD' : '######',
'HOST' : 'localhost',
'PORT' : '',
}
}
# Password validation
# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/ref/settings/#auth-password-validators
AUTH_PASSWORD_VALIDATORS = [
{
'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.UserAttributeSimilarityValidator',
},
{
'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.MinimumLengthValidator',
},
{
'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.CommonPasswordValidator',
},
{
'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.NumericPasswordValidator',
},
]
# Internationalization
# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/topics/i18n/
LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en-us'
TIME_ZONE = 'UTC'
USE_I18N = True
USE_L10N = True
USE_TZ = True
# Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images)
# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/howto/static-files/
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "staticfiles")
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'media')
CRISPY_TEMPLATE_PACK = 'bootstrap4'
After this, I typed the following command below:
python manage.py collectstatic
Now, when I run the server, my web app broke and none of the static files i.e CSS, media and JS are used. It's just plain HTML stuff.
The weird part is that, when I changed the DEBUG mode to True, the site works normally.
Can anyone explain the reason for this? How can I deploy a site when the DEBUG mode is set to True?

Answer 1

Because you have this settings in your main urls
if settings.DEBUG:
urlpatterns += static(settings.STATIC_URL, document_root=settings.STATIC_ROOT)
urlpatterns += static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT)
If you want to deploy the application in cloud server, there you have to create one static folder outside your main folder and place your static files there, so the collectstatic command will store your static files there.