Deploy Django Applications on UnderHost VPS

Django is a powerful Python web framework perfect for scalable applications. On UnderHost VPS, you have full control to deploy Django with Gunicorn and Nginx. This guide covers production-ready setup.

Requirements

• UnderHost Cloud VPS (not available on shared hosting)
• Python 3.8+ installed (usually included)
• PostgreSQL or MySQL for database
• Nginx as reverse proxy
• SSH access and comfort with command line

Python Virtual Environment

Isolate your Django project dependencies from system Python:

cd /home/username
python3 -m venv myproject_env
source myproject_env/bin/activate

You should see (myproject_env) in your prompt, indicating the virtual environment is active.

Install Dependencies

With virtual environment active, install Django and Gunicorn:

pip install django gunicorn psycopg2-binary

Clone or upload your Django project:

cd /home/username
git clone https://github.com/yourname/myproject.git
cd myproject
pip install -r requirements.txt

Configure Gunicorn

Gunicorn is the application server that runs Django:

gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:8000 myproject.wsgi:application

Don't run this directly in production. Create a systemd service (see below).

Setup Nginx Reverse Proxy

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }

    location /static/ {
        alias /home/username/myproject/static/;
    }
}

Enable and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Database Configuration

Update Django settings.py:

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': 'myproject_db',
        'USER': 'myproject_user',
        'PASSWORD': 'secure_password',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '5432',
    }
}

Run s:

python manage.py migrate

Serve Static Files

Configure Django static files:

# settings.py
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = '/home/username/myproject/static/'
STATIC_FILES_DIRS = [
    '/home/username/myproject/staticfiles/',
]

Collect static files:

python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

Systemd Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/myproject.service:

[Unit]
Description=Django Gunicorn
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=notify
User=username
WorkingDirectory=/home/username/myproject
ExecStart=/home/username/myproject_env/bin/gunicorn \
    --workers 3 \
    --bind 127.0.0.1:8000 \
    myproject.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable myproject
sudo systemctl start myproject

Troubleshooting

Related: Flask deployment | Python deployment guide | Python on CloudPanel

Related articles