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The name Django conjures up several vibrant, intriguing characters that span decades. For instance, there’s the 1966 Spaghetti Western “Django,” about a Union soldier-turned drifter that takes on a gang of Confederate and Mexican revolutionaries, and the updated 2012 Django character in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.”
On a different note, Django is also the programming framework named after jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, famous in the 1930s and ’40s. Enabling developers to quickly compose on the fly, Django (the Python-driven platform) aims to streamline the development of complex, dynamic, and database-heavy sites by emphasizing efficiency and reusability of components. We’ve already highlighted some of the best Python hosts, but site owners will want to confirm that support and documentation extend to Django as well. Read on for our favorite hosting options, organized into various categories:
Best Overall Django Web Hosting
Django’s origins in real-world applications — a two-person web development team at a Lawrence, Kansas, newspaper needed a system to keep up with the intensely rigorous deadlines — makes the framework an attractive option for web applications and content-heavy sites requiring rapid development. Python is known for being extraordinarily efficient and user-friendly; Django makes the language even easier to grasp with various shortcuts that recreate commonly used functions and components.
Major institutions, ranging from Disqus and Instagram to NASA and The Onion, use Django to power its user experiences. Django and Python both excel at handling large amounts of traffic, so you’ll want to be sure to align yourself with a host that can handle the flood of visitors. To meet that challenge, we recommend Bluehost, which offers a bunch of scalable solutions that enable modern Django sites and applications to start on shared server space and scale through the VPS, cloud, and dedicated server ranks.
1.
Bluehost.com
- FREE domain and SSL certificate
- 1-click WordPress installs
- Unlimited site traffic and in-house support available 24/7
- Usually $7.99/month, but our visitors pay $2.95/month!
- Industry-leading hardware and uptime
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Best Overall Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com |
Best “Cheap” Django Hosting
Here at HostingAdvice, we tend to equate words like cheap and affordable to the shared hosting space. Site owners frequently need to get the most bang for their buck while their new online venture gets off the ground.
Hosting Django websites on a shared server, however, can be somewhat tricky. First off, you’ll need to find a web hosting provider that has strong, well-documented support for Python. Most of those hosts will also offer Django, but the language and framework require greater administrative access than most shared hosts provide. You’ll likely need the support team’s help to install and configure both systems, but you’ll have a great and low-cost environment in which to learn and use Django once everything is set up. Take a look at our top three Django hosts that prioritize affordability — while also providing the computing resources and upgraded server options that help your project grow.
2.
1and1.com
- $1/month for six or 12 months
- No hidden costs - pay just $6 or $12 at checkout
- Easy setup and 24/7 support from a personal consultant
- FREE domain or transfer, plus FREE SSL certificate
- Up to 500 GB storage, 500 databases, 500 email accounts
- Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
1&1: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cheap Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 100 GB - 500 GB | FREE (1 year) | www.1and1.com/shared |
3.
Bluehost.com
- Known for performance at a low price
- Endorsed by WordPress.org team
- FREE Weebly site builder
- FREE Cloudflare CDN
- Get 63% off today (was $7.99/month)
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cheap Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com/shared |
4.
HostGator.com
- $0.01 for 1 month, then plans from $4.47/mo to $10.95/mo if you don't cancel
- Unmetered disk space & bandwidth
- Unlimited email addresses & free SSL certificate
- One-click WordPress install & free blog tools
- New domain costs $12.95, or use existing domain free
- Get started on HostGator now.
HostGator: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cheap Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 days | Unlimited | New or Transfer | www.hostgator.com/shared |
See other top-rated cheap hosts »
Best “Cloud” Django Hosting
Cloud hosting is where Django shines. The environments are ultra reliable and customizable, giving site owners more control over which versions of Python and database systems should be installed. Backend programming languages like Python, and, by extension, frameworks like Django, set up the data storage, organization, and management functionalities needed to create more interactive user experiences. To compare, frontend development languages include the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code that displays and delivers the visual elements your users will see and (hopefully) click on.
Django further streamlines development by including an admin interface to create, read, update, and delete information.
This means that, if you need to use cookies, gather information from forms, generate sitemaps, manage comments, support multiple languages, or enable visitors to create user accounts and submit payment information, a cloud hosting solution is probably going to be best. What’s more, cloud hosting is easily scalable and adaptable to high volumes of traffic, while limited shared hosting environments often wilt in the face of such challenges.
The big three cloud providers — Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud — all support robust Django development, but we tend to reserve those platforms for experienced developers with enterprise-grade hosting requirements. The cloud providers listed below offer solutions that are much easier to use and come with support teams that are much more accessible, helpful, and affordable. Consider one of these hosts for establishing your Django website or application in the cloud:
5.
InMotionHosting.com
- Ranked #1 for cloud VPS hosting
- Fault-tolerant SSD storage and up to 8GB of RAM
- FREE control panel with choice of Linux OS
- Full root access or managed servers available
- FREE live-state or scheduled snapshots
- Get started on InMotion now.
InMotion: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cloud Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 75 GB SSD - 260 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | www.inmotion.com/cloud |
6.
1and1.com
- Managed cloud hosting plans begin with a $100 CREDIT toward your first month
- FREE personal consultant you can contact directly
- Customizable stack of web servers, databases, and scripting languages
- SSD infrastrucutre optimized for your software applications
- Transparent costs and by-the-minute billing
- Get started on 1&1 now.
1&1: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cloud Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 80 GB SSD - 240 GB SSD | New or Transfer | www.1and1.com/cloud |
7.
HostGator.com
- Twice as fast and four times the computing resources
- Tons of storage with the scalability of the cloud
- Low-density servers and multiple caching layers
- Unlimited domains and MySQL databases
- Upgrades available for security, backups, productivity, and domain privacy
- Get started on HostGator now.
HostGator: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cloud Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 days | 120 GB - 240 GB | New or Transfer | www.hostgator.com/cloud |
See other top-rated cloud hosts »
Best Django “Email” Hosting
With dynamic websites and apps frequently requiring users to create accounts, the Django framework can automate some of the mundane account activation, confirmation, and management tasks associated with day-to-day operations. Django is particularly useful for sending account activation messages, along with password resets, responses to form completions, and general notifications about the application.
To send these emails, you only need a registered domain and an email service — two things you probably already have. You can connect to any email service that uses SMTP with a little bit of configuration and MX record editing. As luck would have it, several of our favorite Django hosting providers are also well-equipped to support your email needs. Plus, these companies’ top-notch support teams will have the knowledgebase resources, tutorials, and support staff on standby if you need help.
8.
Bluehost.com
- FREE domain and unlimited emails
- 1-click WordPress install and FREE site builder
- $200 in advertising credits with Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
- Google app integration available
- POP3 and IMAP secure email, with 3 WebMail solutions
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Email Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com/email |
9.
InMotionHosting.com
- FREE domain for new and existing transfers
- 1-click app installer and over 300 apps available
- Business-Class hardware and eCommerce-ready options
- Unlimited SPAM Safe™ email with IMAP
- SSD storage, plus FREE data backups and SSL security
- Get started on InMotion now.
InMotion: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Email Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.inmotionhosting.com/email |
10.
iPage.com
- FREE site transfers and 1-year domain name registration
- Unlimited domains, disk space, and email addresses
- Email forwarding, autoresponders, and webmail
- Market your site with $200 in ad credits and SEO tools
- FREE online store and site-building tools
- Get started on iPage now.
iPage: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Email Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.ipage.com/email |
See other top-rated email hosts »
Best Django “Python” Hosting
As we mentioned earlier, Django is a framework of the Python programming language — you can’t use Django without Python. However, Python is a rather flexible language. New users may want to start with the basics of Python before experimenting with other frameworks. Full-stack frameworks, like Django, typically include a web or application server, database system, template engine, and user management tools; popular Django alternatives include TurboGears and web2py.
Django is one of the many frameworks available in the realm of Python. Which one will you try?
Python maintains a list of frameworks for developers to consider, including popular (albeit non-full-stack) frameworks such as Flask, CherryPy, and Bottle. Web hosting providers that support Python, particularly the ones we’ve listed above, should also allow developers and site owners to use most of these systems.
But, just in case, here are two other hosts to consider. SiteGround and A2 Hosting are two superb hosting options that just barely missed the cuts earlier in our article. Compare their hosting specs to see how their hardware performance, support, and compatibility match your Python project’s requirements.
11.
SiteGround.com
- FREE site transfer or new site setup with 1-click install
- FREE automated daily backups, CDN, email, and SSL
- 24/7 expert support with no wait time on phone or chat
- Recommended by WordPress as a top WordPress host
- Ideal for business email hosting, with 99.9% uptime
- Get started on SiteGround now.
SiteGround: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Best Overall Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB - 30 GB | New or Transfer | www.siteground.com |
12.
A2Hosting.com
- SSDs and Turbo Server for up to 20x faster pageloads
- Host unlimited websites and enjoy FREE site transfer
- A2-optimized plugins and 1-click installs for WordPress
- A2-optimized caching with OPcache and Memcached
- FREE HackScan with restore options
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
A2 Hosting: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Best Overall Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited SSD | New or Transfer | www.a2hosting.com |
See other top-rated Python hosts »
Why You Don’t Want Free Django Hosting
We are well-documented advocates of choosing reputable, nearly free hosting plans over the limited services and support offered for free by other companies. Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for scoring a deal and saving money, but the added security, features, reliability, and general peace of mind that come with shared hosting plans is well worth the meager cost.
However, first-time Python and Django users may want a no-cost space in which to play and experiment. If you insist on going this route, be careful — only use free hosting services for testing, experimenting and learning, not for producing sites or applications. Many of our usual recommended free web hosting providers, including 000webhost and x10hosting, don’t support Python (and, by extension, Django). You’ll likely need to find a more specialized service.
For that, we turn to options like PythonAnywhere and Heroku. Both platforms provide more sophisticated cloud environments that can give users a sense of what they can accomplish with Django. Developers can experiment with different deployment methods and other limited options before upgrading to a paid plan.
Easily Deploy Django Apps as You Ride Off Into the Sunset
Whether you’re a fan of Spaghetti Westerns or jazz guitar, the Django framework is sure to elicit a fun reaction — particularly when it comes to creating, developing, and deploying online applications. Because Django and Python are so easy to learn, both beginners and experienced developers can quickly build scalable, high-performing applications and user interactions.
Django’s mantra of efficiency and usability resonates with the perpetually deadline-pressed writer, developer, and perfectionist in me. Good luck on your quest!
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