When I first explored deployment options, I was surprised by how many different servers were available. Unfortunately, most of them required a paid subscription. Because this project was intended to be deployed at no cost, I focused on finding free solutions, and during that process, I discovered Gunicorn.
Why I Chose Gunicorn as the Server for Django Deployment
When deploying a Django project for the first time, one of the most confusing questions is
“Which server should I use to run Django in production?”
During development, Django is usually started with the following command
python manage.py runserver
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However, this command is only intended for development, and it is not suitable for a production environment.
Why runserver Is Not Suitable for Production
According to the official Django documentation,
runserver is designed strictly for local development.
It has several limitations:
•
It prioritizes development convenience over stability
•
It lacks production-level security features
•
It does not handle concurrent requests efficiently
•
It is not designed to run continuously under real traffic
In short
runserver is a development tool,not a production-grade web server.
What Is Gunicorn?
Gunicorn (Green Unicorn) is a Python WSGI (Web Server Gateway Interface) server.
Simply put
Gunicorn is a production-ready server that runs Django applicationsand handles incoming web requests in a stable and efficient way.
The request flow looks like this:
User Browser
↓
Gunicorn
↓
Django
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Gunicorn acts as a reliable middle layer between users and the Django application.
Reasons for Choosing Gunicorn
For this project, I considered the following conditions:
•
Django-based application
•
No authentication, admin, or database usage
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Deployed on a free hosting platform
•
Simple architecture, but aligned with production best practices
Under these conditions, Gunicorn was the most reasonable choice.
1. De facto standard for Django deployments
Gunicorn is widely recommended in Django’s official documentation
and in most production deployment guides.
2. Simple configuration
Django can be launched with a single command:
gunicorn project_name.wsgi:application
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This makes Gunicorn ideal for first-time deployment experiences.
3. Excellent compatibility with hosting platforms
Many PaaS providers such as Render, Railway, and Fly.io
expect Gunicorn (or a similar WSGI server) to be used by default.
4. Clear separation between development and production
•
Development : python manage.py runserver
•
Production : gunicorn
This clear separation helps maintain a clean and predictable workflow.
Deployment Structure in This Project
•
Development server: Django runserver
•
Production server: Gunicorn
•
Infrastructure & HTTPS: Managed by the hosting platform
In other words:
Django is not exposed directly to users, it is executed through Gunicorn in a production environment.
This approach provides a more realistic and professional deployment setup, even for a small or database-free project.
Summary
When deploying a Django application,
the development server (runserver) should be replaced with
a production-ready WSGI server such as Gunicorn
to ensure stability, security, and scalability.