Customizing URLs in Django

A high-level Python web framework called Django uses the model-view-controller design pattern to give developers a disciplined way to create scalable and enduring web applications. It has many tools and built-in capabilities that make routine web development jobs easier.

URLs in Django

In Django, URLs (Uniform resource locators) specify how incoming requests are translated to view functions or classes for processing and producing responses.

These patterns are defined in the project's URL configuration file (urls.py). A Django web application relies heavily on URLs to route and handles several endpoints, enabling users to access different pages or resources depending on the requested URL.

Customizing URLs in Django

Customizing URLs in Django involves modifying the URL patterns in the project's URL configuration file (urls.py) to match specific requirements. This can include changing URL paths, adding named URL patterns, including URL parameters, and more. By customizing URLs, developers can create clean, meaningful, and user-friendly URLs that align with the application's functionality and enhance the overall user experience.

Step-by-step guide for customizing URLs using Django

Set up a Django project. After creating the Django project named  my_project, create an app in Django named my_app.

After creating the app, list that app in INSTALLED_APPS in setting.py file of the project.

# Application definition
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'my_app'
    
]
Listing app in installed apps

Views and URLs Setup

In Django, URLs and views collaborate to process incoming requests and deliver useful results. Specific URLs are mapped to associated views in the urls.py URL configuration file. Views commonly specified in views.py include the logic for processing requests, taking relevant actions, and producing answers.

Creating views

In my_app/views.py,create views for the customized URLs.

from django.shortcuts import render
from django.shortcuts import render
from django.http import HttpResponse
def password_reset(request):
    # Code to handle password reset confirmation
    return HttpResponse("Password reset confirmation view")
def activation_view(request):
    # Code to handle account activation
    return HttpResponse("Account activation view")
def home_view(request):
    return HttpResponse("Welcome to the homepage!")
Creation of views

  • password_reset(request): Password reset requests are handled by the view function password_reset(request). When a user verifies their password reset request, it is responsible for implementing the logic and providing the proper response. In this instance, a HttpResponse with the text “Password reset confirmation view” returned.

  • activation_view(request): This view function handles the account activation procedure. It is in charge of handling the request for activation and activating the user’s account. Similar to the last example, this one returns a HttpResponse with the phrase “Account activation view.”

  • home_view(request): The homepage is rendered using this view function. A simple HttpResponse with “Welcome to the homepage!” is returned.

Setting up the URL

These view methods are often linked to specific URLs in the URL setup of your Django project, making them accessible to users via matching URLs. The views handle the logic for processing requests and providing pertinent replies, such as displaying templates or sending data back to the user.

You would need to map these views to URLs in the urls.py file of your Django project to use them. This mapping enables Django to direct incoming requests to the correct view function by linking the URLs to the respective views.

In my_project/urls.py, set up the URL for the view we've created for the customized URLs.

"""my_project URL Configuration
The `urlpatterns` list routes URLs to views. For more information please see:
    https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/3.2/topics/http/urls/
Examples:
Function views
    1. Add an import:  from my_app import views
    2. Add a URL to urlpatterns:  path('', views.home, name='home')
Class-based views
    1. Add an import:  from other_app.views import Home
    2. Add a URL to urlpatterns:  path('', Home.as_view(), name='home')
Including another URLconf
    1. Import the include() function: from django.urls import include, path
    2. Add a URL to urlpatterns:  path('blog/', include('blog.urls'))
"""
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path
from django.urls import path, include
from my_app import views
from my_app.views import home_view
from my_app.views import password_reset, activation_view
from django.urls import path, include
urlpatterns = [
    # ... other URL patterns from the project ...
    #path('api/auth/', include('my_app.urls')),
    path('', home_view, name='home'),
    path('custom/password-reset/', password_reset, name='password_reset'),
    path('custom/activate/', activation_view, name='activate'),
    # ... other URL patterns from the project ...
]
Mapping URLs to the views

The directory structure will look like this.

project_name/
├── manage.py
├── my_project/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   ├── asgi.py
│   └── wsgi.py
└── your_app/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── views.py
    └──apps.py
Directory structure

Now that the files have been all setup and the customized URLs have been created, you are all set to go.

Execution Instruction

  • Run the following command to start the server

python manage.py runserver
Starting the server

  • When you run the server, the web browser will first display the home_view that you created in my_app/views.py by using render(). Now, you can open any of the other views that have been created by using the customized URL attached to it.

  • Open a web browser and enter the URL based on your local development server's address. For example, if your server is running at http://localhost:8000/, you would enter the following URL.

http://localhost:8000/custom/password-reset/
Executing customized URL

Pressing enter will send the request to the specified URL. Django will route the request to the associated view function, password_reset in this case.

Depending on how you have implemented the logic, you can observe the response generated by the view function. In this case, it will display the phrase "password reset confirmation view."

#!/usr/bin/env python
"""Django's command-line utility for administrative tasks."""
import os
import sys


def main():
    """Run administrative tasks."""
    os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'my_project.settings')
    try:
        from django.core.management import execute_from_command_line
    except ImportError as exc:
        raise ImportError(
            "Couldn't import Django. Are you sure it's installed and "
            "available on your PYTHONPATH environment variable? Did you "
            "forget to activate a virtual environment?"
        ) from exc
    execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)


if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()
Customized URLs using Django

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