Django Worship Team Website Development Plan¶

Overview¶

This document outlines a three-week development plan for building a custom worship team website using the Django web framework.

The goal of this project is to replace a Google Sites implementation with a fully customizable Django application that includes:

Static informational pages
Band member management
Event listings
Booking request forms
Contact forms
Administrative dashboard

This project will also serve as a learning experience for Django development and as a portfolio project demonstrating backend development, database modeling, and web deployment.

Project Goals¶

Primary Goals¶

Learn the Django framework
Build a custom dynamic website
Replace embedded forms with native Django forms
Implement database-driven content management

Secondary Goals¶

Gain experience with Django templates
Understand model-view-template architecture
Deploy a production web application
Connect a custom domain to the deployed application

Technology Stack¶

Backend¶

Python
Django

Frontend¶

HTML
CSS
JavaScript
Optional: Bootstrap for styling

Database¶

SQLite (development)
PostgreSQL (production)

Deployment¶

Render (recommended beginner deployment platform)

Project Structure¶

The Django project will be organized using separate applications for each feature.

worship_site/
│
├── core/
├── members/
├── events/
├── booking/
├── contact/
│
├── templates/
├── static/
└── media/

Application Responsibilities¶

core: Static pages and homepage
members: Band member management and team page
events: Event listings and upcoming events
booking: Booking request form and submission storage
contact: General contact form

Week 1: Django Fundamentals and Core Pages¶

Objective¶

Set up the Django environment and build the foundational website pages.

Tasks¶

Install Python dependencies

pip install django

Create the Django project

django-admin startproject worship_site

Start development server

python manage.py runserver

Create the core application

python manage.py startapp core

Register the app in settings.py
Configure template directories
Create a base template

templates/base.html

Implement core pages

Pages to implement:

Home
About
Mission
History
Connect

Configure URL routing

Expected Outcome¶

At the end of Week 1 the site should:

Run locally
Display multiple pages
Use a shared base template
Support static styling

Week 2: Dynamic Features¶

Objective¶

Add database models and dynamic content.

Band Member Management¶

Create the members application.

python manage.py startapp members

Define the BandMember model with fields such as:

Name
Role
Instrument
Bio
Photo

Create the Our Team page that displays band members dynamically.

Event System¶

Create the events application.

Define an Event model with fields such as:

Title
Date
Location
Description

Create a page displaying upcoming events.

Booking System¶

Create the booking application.

Define a BookingRequest model including:

Name
Email
Organization
Event Date
Location
Message

Create a form allowing visitors to submit booking requests.

Ensure submissions are stored in the database and viewable from the admin panel.

Expected Outcome¶

By the end of Week 2 the website should include:

Dynamic team member listings
Event management
Booking request submission
Admin dashboard content management

Week 3: Styling and Deployment¶

Objective¶

Polish the user interface and deploy the application to production.

User Interface Improvements¶

Add styling to the website:

Responsive navigation bar
Improved page layout
Image display for members
Mobile responsiveness

Optional: integrate Bootstrap.

Additional Features¶

Add small usability improvements such as:

Confirmation messages for forms
Email notification for booking requests
Custom error pages

Deployment¶

Deploy the application using a cloud platform.

Recommended platform:

Render

Deployment tasks:

Push the project to GitHub
Connect the repository to Render
Configure environment variables
Deploy the Django application

Domain Configuration¶

After deployment, connect the domain purchased through Namecheap.

Steps include:

Configure DNS records
Point domain to the hosting platform
Enable HTTPS

Expected Outcome¶

At the end of Week 3 the website should:

Be publicly accessible
Use a custom domain
Support form submissions
Provide an admin interface for content management

Future Improvements¶

Possible enhancements include:

Full event calendar view
Member login portal
Song setlist management
Media gallery
Blog or devotional posts

Conclusion¶

This project demonstrates the process of designing, developing, and deploying a dynamic web application using Django.

Completing this project provides practical experience in:

Backend web development
Database modeling
Web application deployment
Domain configuration