Deploying a Django Project on Vercel

Prerequisites

• A Vercel account
• A GitHub account
• A Django project
• The following Python packages:
  1. psycopg2-binary
  2. dj-database-url
  3. python-decouple

Steps

1. Install the required Python packages:

   pip install psycopg2-binary dj-database-url python-decouple

2. Update your requirements.txt file:

   pip freeze > requirements.txt

3. Create a .env file in the root directory of your Django project and add the following line:

   DATABASE_URL="{your cloud database url}"

4. Create a .gitignore file in the root directory of your Django project and add the following lines:

   *.env
   bin/
   lib/
   *.sqlite3

5. Create a build.sh file in the root directory of your Django project and add the following contents:

   #!/bin/bash
   
   # Build the project
   echo "Building the project..."
   python3.9 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
   
   echo "Make Migration..."
   python3.9 manage.py makemigrations --noinput
   python3.9 manage.py migrate --noinput
   
   echo "Collect Static..."
   python3.9 manage.py collectstatic --noinput

6. Create a vercel.json file in the root directory of your Django project and add the following contents:

   {
     "version": 2,
     "builds": [
       {
         "src": "backend/wsgi.py",
         "use": "@vercel/python",
         "config": {
           "maxLambdaSize": "15mb",
           "runtime": "python3.9"
         }
       },
       {
         "src": "build.sh",
         "use": "@vercel/static-build",
         "config": {
           "distDir": "staticfiles_build"
         }
       }
     ],
     "routes": [
       {
         "src": "/static/(.*)",
         "dest": "/static/$1"
       },
       {
         "src": "/(.*)",
         "dest": "backend/wsgi.py"
       }
     ]
   }

7. Make the following changes to your Django project settings:

   settings.py

   
   import dj_database_url
   from decouple import config
   
   # Change the DATABASES configuration
   DATABASES["default"] = dj_database_url.config()
   
   # Add these for static files
   STATIC_URL = 'static/'
   STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "staticfiles_build" / "static"
   
   # Add these for media files
   MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
   MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'media')
   

8. In your project's wsgi.py file, change the application variable to 'app':

   wsgi.py

   app = get_wsgi_application()

9. Upload your project to GitHub.
10. Import your GitHub repository into Vercel and deploy your project.
11. Access your deployed Django project on Vercel.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully deployed your Django project on Vercel. Now your project is accessible to the world.