This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Zabby
Todays Task
- Use Django’s project + app architecture
- Link two apps: library and members
- Display templates for each
✅ Step 1: Installed virtualenv (if not already there) using the command
sudo apt install python3-venv
🗂️ Step 2: Created a virtual environment in my project folder
python3 -m venv venv
This created a venv/ folder containing an isolated Python environment complete with its own pip, python, and site-packages.
🚀 Step 3: Activated the virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate
Once activated, my terminal prompt changed (it showed (venv)), and any packages I installed from that point forward were isolated to the project.
To deactivate it run the command: deactivate
To Install Django you run the command:
python -m pip install django
📁 Step One: Starting the Django Project.
django-admin startproject community
cd community
I saw this structure:
community/
manage.py
my_project/
__init__.py
settings.py
urls.py
asgi.py
wsgi.py
📁 Step 2: Created Django Apps
Installed the required django apps i went with library & members.
python manage.py startapp library
python manage.py startapp members
Step 3: Creating Models That Talk to Each Other
library/models.py
class Book(models.Model):
title = models.CharField(max_length=100)
author = models.CharField(max_length=100)
members/models.py:
from library.models import Book
class Member(models.Model):
name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
borrowed_book = models.ForeignKey(Book, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
I ran migrations to apply these changes:
python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate
🧠 Step 4: Simple Views
Each app got its own view to send data to the templates.
library/views.py:
def book_list(request):
books = Book.objects.all()
return render(request, 'library/books.html', {'books': books})
members/views.py:
def member_list(request):
members = Member.objects.all()
return render(request, 'members/members.html', {'members': members})
🖼️ Step 5: Linking Templates with Style
Both apps got their own templates directory. I used Bootstrap and a light CSS gradient background to make them feel cleaner and more polished.
Here’s a peek at books.html:
<body style="background: linear-gradient(to bottom right, #f2f2f2, #e6f7ff);">
<div class="container mt-5 bg-white p-4 rounded shadow">
<h2>📚 Library Books</h2>
<ul>
{% for book in books %}
<li>{{ book.title }} by {{ book.author }}</li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>
<a href="/members/">View Members</a>
</div>
</body>
Same idea applied to members.html, with a flipped color scheme to visually separate them.
🌐 Step 6: URLs That Connect It All
Each app got its own urls.py, which I included in the main community/urls.py:
urlpatterns = [
path('library/', include('library.urls')),
path('members/', include('members.urls')),
]
Now I could browse:
/library/ to see the books
/members/ to view who borrowed what
💡 What I Learned
Django's app structure scales cleanly—even for a beginner
Connecting models across apps is smooth once you understand ForeignKey
Styling with Bootstrap + gradients makes Django feel like more than just a backend toy
Always create urls.py for each app before including them in project/urls.py (yes, I hit that error 😅)
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Zabby
Zabby | Sciencx (2025-06-30T16:37:35+00:00) Day 4: Building My First Django Project with Linked Apps (And Making It Look Good Too). Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/06/30/day-4-building-my-first-django-project-with-linked-apps-and-making-it-look-good-too/
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