DevArticles Hub: A Full-Stack Django Content Platform

By echrif | April 14, 2026

Build a complete Django content platform from scratch where users can register, manage profiles, publish categorized and tagged articles, interact through comments, likes, favorites, and bookmarks, receive notifications, explore content with search/filter/sort, use a personalized dashboard, and connect through a working contact and email system.

Here is a complete Django project from scratch that brings together Tutorials 36 to 46 into one coherent application, with:

a clear project idea
the subject covered in each tutorial
full project structure
main models, forms, views, urls
the latest full templates
deep explanations of why each part exists

Project Title

DevArticles Hub
A Full-Stack Django Content Platform

Project Goal

We are building a complete Django platform where users can:

register and log in
get an automatic profile
create, publish, and manage articles
organize articles with categories and tags
search, filter, and sort content
comment on posts
like, favorite, and bookmark posts
receive notifications
manage everything from a dashboard
contact the platform owner through a contact form
trigger email sending from the system

This is a strong real-world educational project because it combines content management, user interaction, personalization, and communication.

1. What each tutorial covers inside this project

Tutorial 1 — Building a Contact Form in Django

We create a public Contact Us page where visitors can send a message through a Django form.

Tutorial 2 — Sending Emails with Django

The contact form sends an email to the site admin using Django’s email tools.

Tutorial 3 — Django Signals

We use signals to automatically create a profile whenever a new user is created.

Tutorial 4 — Custom User Model in Django

We start the project with a custom user model so the authentication system is flexible from the beginning.

Tutorial 5 — User Profiles in Django

Each user gets a profile page with extra information such as image, website, and location.

Tutorial 6 — Comment System in Django

Users can post comments under articles, and authors can see interactions on their content.

Tutorial 7 — Like / Favorite / Bookmark System

Users can interact with articles in three ways:

like
favorite
bookmark

Tutorial 8 — Category and Tag Systems

Articles are organized using one main category and multiple tags.

Tutorial 9 — Dashboard Creation in Django

Each authenticated user gets a dashboard showing:

total posts
published posts
drafts
comments
recent activity

Tutorial 10 — Notifications in Django

Users receive in-app notifications when important events happen, such as comments on their posts.

Tutorial 11 — Search + Filter + Sort in Django

The article list supports:

keyword search
category filter
sort by date/title/views
pagination

2. Final project architecture

devarticles_hub/
│
├── manage.py
├── devarticles_hub/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   ├── asgi.py
│   └── wsgi.py
│
├── accounts/
│   ├── admin.py
│   ├── apps.py
│   ├── forms.py
│   ├── models.py
│   ├── signals.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── views.py
│
├── blog/
│   ├── admin.py
│   ├── forms.py
│   ├── models.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── views.py
│
├── interactions/
│   ├── forms.py
│   ├── models.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── views.py
│
├── notifications_app/
│   ├── models.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   ├── views.py
│   └── context_processors.py
│
├── contact/
│   ├── forms.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── views.py
│
├── dashboard/
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── views.py
│
├── templates/
│   ├── base.html
│   ├── includes/
│   │   ├── messages.html
│   │   ├── navbar.html
│   │   └── pagination.html
│   ├── accounts/
│   │   ├── register.html
│   │   ├── login.html
│   │   ├── profile.html
│   │   └── edit_profile.html
│   ├── blog/
│   │   ├── post_list.html
│   │   ├── post_detail.html
│   │   ├── post_form.html
│   │   ├── category_detail.html
│   │   └── tag_detail.html
│   ├── dashboard/
│   │   └── dashboard.html
│   ├── notifications/
│   │   └── notification_list.html
│   └── contact/
│       └── contact.html
│
└── media/

3. Step 1 — Create the project

django-admin startproject devarticles_hub
cd devarticles_hub

python manage.py startapp accounts
python manage.py startapp blog
python manage.py startapp interactions
python manage.py startapp notifications_app
python manage.py startapp contact
python manage.py startapp dashboard

Install Pillow for image uploads:

pip install pillow

4. Step 2 — `settings.py`

This file is the central configuration of the project.

`devarticles_hub/settings.py`

from pathlib import Path
import os

BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent

SECRET_KEY = 'django-insecure-change-this-key'
DEBUG = True
ALLOWED_HOSTS = []

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',

    'accounts.apps.AccountsConfig',
    'blog',
    'interactions',
    'notifications_app',
    'contact',
    'dashboard',
]

MIDDLEWARE = [
    'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware',
]

ROOT_URLCONF = 'devarticles_hub.urls'

TEMPLATES = [
    {
        'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
        'DIRS': [BASE_DIR / 'templates'],
        'APP_DIRS': True,
        'OPTIONS': {
            'context_processors': [
                'django.template.context_processors.request',
                'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth',
                'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages',
                'notifications_app.context_processors.notification_count',
            ],
        },
    },
]

WSGI_APPLICATION = 'devarticles_hub.wsgi.application'

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
        'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3',
    }
}

AUTH_PASSWORD_VALIDATORS = []

LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en-us'
TIME_ZONE = 'Africa/Casablanca'
USE_I18N = True
USE_TZ = True

STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATICFILES_DIRS = [BASE_DIR / 'static'] if (BASE_DIR / 'static').exists() else []

MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'media'

DEFAULT_AUTO_FIELD = 'django.db.models.BigAutoField'

AUTH_USER_MODEL = 'accounts.CustomUser'

LOGIN_REDIRECT_URL = 'dashboard'
LOGOUT_REDIRECT_URL = 'post_list'
LOGIN_URL = 'login'

EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend'
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = 'noreply@example.com'
CONTACT_EMAIL = 'admin@example.com'

5. Step 3 — Custom User + Profile

This is the foundation of Tutorials 39 and 40.

Why we do this

A real project often needs more than Django’s default user.
So we create CustomUser from the beginning, then attach a Profile for extra data.

`accounts/models.py`

from django.contrib.auth.models import AbstractUser
from django.db import models
from django.conf import settings

class CustomUser(AbstractUser):
    email = models.EmailField(unique=True)
    phone = models.CharField(max_length=20, blank=True)
    bio = models.TextField(blank=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.username


class Profile(models.Model):
    user = models.OneToOneField(settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name='profile')
    profile_picture = models.ImageField(upload_to='profiles/', blank=True, null=True)
    website = models.URLField(blank=True)
    location = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return f"{self.user.username}'s Profile"

6. Step 4 — Signals

This is Tutorial 38.

Why signals here

Whenever a user is created, we want the profile to appear automatically.
This avoids forgotten profiles and keeps the system consistent.

`accounts/signals.py`

from django.db.models.signals import post_save
from django.dispatch import receiver
from django.conf import settings
from .models import Profile

@receiver(post_save, sender=settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL)
def create_user_profile(sender, instance, created, **kwargs):
    if created:
        Profile.objects.create(user=instance)

`accounts/apps.py`

from django.apps import AppConfig

class AccountsConfig(AppConfig):
    default_auto_field = 'django.db.models.BigAutoField'
    name = 'accounts'

    def ready(self):
        import accounts.signals

7. Step 5 — Categories, Tags, and Posts

This is Tutorial 43.

Why categories and tags exist

Categories give the article a broad home.
Tags give it detailed topic labels.

`blog/models.py`

from django.db import models
from django.conf import settings
from django.utils.text import slugify

class Category(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100, unique=True)
    slug = models.SlugField(unique=True, blank=True)
    description = models.TextField(blank=True)

    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
        if not self.slug:
            self.slug = slugify(self.name)
        super().save(*args, **kwargs)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name


class Tag(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=50, unique=True)
    slug = models.SlugField(unique=True, blank=True)

    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
        if not self.slug:
            self.slug = slugify(self.name)
        super().save(*args, **kwargs)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name


class Post(models.Model):
    STATUS_CHOICES = (
        ('draft', 'Draft'),
        ('published', 'Published'),
    )

    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    slug = models.SlugField(unique=True, blank=True)
    content = models.TextField()
    author = models.ForeignKey(settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name='posts')
    category = models.ForeignKey(Category, on_delete=models.SET_NULL, null=True, blank=True, related_name='posts')
    tags = models.ManyToManyField(Tag, blank=True, related_name='posts')
    status = models.CharField(max_length=20, choices=STATUS_CHOICES, default='draft')
    views_count = models.PositiveIntegerField(default=0)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    liked_by = models.ManyToManyField(settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL, blank=True, related_name='liked_posts')
    favorited_by = models.ManyToManyField(settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL, blank=True, related_name='favorite_posts')
    bookmarked_by = models.ManyToManyField(settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL, blank=True, related_name='bookmarked_posts')

    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
        if not self.slug:
            self.slug = slugify(self.title)
        super().save(*args, **kwargs)

    def total_likes(self):
        return self.liked_by.count()

    def total_favorites(self):
        return self.favorited_by.count()

    def total_bookmarks(self):
        return self.bookmarked_by.count()

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

8. Step 6 — Comments

This is Tutorial 41.

Why comments matter

Comments turn the site from static content into interactive content.

`interactions/models.py`

from django.db import models
from django.conf import settings
from blog.models import Post

class Comment(models.Model):
    post = models.ForeignKey(Post, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name='comments')
    user = models.ForeignKey(settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name='comments')
    content = models.TextField()
    is_approved = models.BooleanField(default=True)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    class Meta:
        ordering = ['-created_at']

    def __str__(self):
        return f"Comment by {self.user.username} on {self.post.title}"

9. Step 7 — Notifications

This is Tutorial 45.

Why notifications matter

When something important happens, the user should not need to manually discover it.

`notifications_app/models.py`

from django.db import models
from django.conf import settings

class Notification(models.Model):
    recipient = models.ForeignKey(
        settings.AUTH_USER_MODEL,
        on_delete=models.CASCADE,
        related_name='notifications'
    )
    message = models.CharField(max_length=255)
    link = models.CharField(max_length=255, blank=True)
    is_read = models.BooleanField(default=False)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    class Meta:
        ordering = ['-created_at']

    def __str__(self):
        return f"Notification for {self.recipient.username}"

10. Step 8 — Forms

Forms cover:

registration
profile editing
post creation
comments
contact form

`accounts/forms.py`

from django import forms
from django.contrib.auth.forms import UserCreationForm
from .models import CustomUser, Profile

class CustomUserCreationForm(UserCreationForm):
    class Meta:
        model = CustomUser
        fields = ['username', 'email', 'phone']

class ProfileForm(forms.ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        model = Profile
        fields = ['profile_picture', 'website', 'location']

`blog/forms.py`

from django import forms
from .models import Post

class PostForm(forms.ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        model = Post
        fields = ['title', 'content', 'category', 'tags', 'status']

`interactions/forms.py`

from django import forms
from .models import Comment

class CommentForm(forms.ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        model = Comment
        fields = ['content']
        widgets = {
            'content': forms.Textarea(attrs={
                'rows': 4,
                'placeholder': 'Write your comment here...'
            })
        }

`contact/forms.py`

from django import forms

class ContactForm(forms.Form):
    name = forms.CharField(max_length=100)
    email = forms.EmailField()
    subject = forms.CharField(max_length=150)
    message = forms.CharField(widget=forms.Textarea)

11. Step 9 — Account Views

`accounts/views.py`

from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from django.contrib.auth import login
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from .forms import CustomUserCreationForm, ProfileForm

def register_view(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = CustomUserCreationForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            user = form.save()
            login(request, user)
            return redirect('dashboard')
    else:
        form = CustomUserCreationForm()
    return render(request, 'accounts/register.html', {'form': form})

@login_required
def profile_view(request):
    return render(request, 'accounts/profile.html', {'profile': request.user.profile})

@login_required
def edit_profile(request):
    profile = request.user.profile

    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = ProfileForm(request.POST, request.FILES, instance=profile)
        if form.is_valid():
            form.save()
            return redirect('profile')
    else:
        form = ProfileForm(instance=profile)

    return render(request, 'accounts/edit_profile.html', {'form': form})

12. Step 10 — Blog Views with Search + Filter + Sort

This is Tutorial 46 and also the public heart of the site.

`blog/views.py`

from django.shortcuts import render, get_object_or_404, redirect
from django.db.models import Q
from django.core.paginator import Paginator
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from .models import Post, Category, Tag
from .forms import PostForm
from interactions.forms import CommentForm

def post_list(request):
    posts = Post.objects.filter(status='published').select_related('category', 'author').prefetch_related('tags')
    categories = Category.objects.all()

    query = request.GET.get('q', '').strip()
    category_id = request.GET.get('category', '')
    sort = request.GET.get('sort', 'newest')

    if query:
        posts = posts.filter(
            Q(title__icontains=query) |
            Q(content__icontains=query) |
            Q(category__name__icontains=query)
        )

    if category_id:
        posts = posts.filter(category_id=category_id)

    if sort == 'oldest':
        posts = posts.order_by('created_at')
    elif sort == 'title_asc':
        posts = posts.order_by('title')
    elif sort == 'title_desc':
        posts = posts.order_by('-title')
    elif sort == 'most_viewed':
        posts = posts.order_by('-views_count')
    else:
        posts = posts.order_by('-created_at')

    paginator = Paginator(posts, 6)
    page_number = request.GET.get('page')
    page_obj = paginator.get_page(page_number)

    return render(request, 'blog/post_list.html', {
        'page_obj': page_obj,
        'categories': categories,
        'query': query,
        'selected_category': category_id,
        'selected_sort': sort,
    })

def post_detail(request, slug):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, slug=slug, status='published')
    post.views_count += 1
    post.save(update_fields=['views_count'])

    comments = post.comments.filter(is_approved=True).select_related('user')
    comment_form = CommentForm()

    user_has_liked = False
    user_has_favorited = False
    user_has_bookmarked = False

    if request.user.is_authenticated:
        user_has_liked = post.liked_by.filter(id=request.user.id).exists()
        user_has_favorited = post.favorited_by.filter(id=request.user.id).exists()
        user_has_bookmarked = post.bookmarked_by.filter(id=request.user.id).exists()

    return render(request, 'blog/post_detail.html', {
        'post': post,
        'comments': comments,
        'comment_form': comment_form,
        'user_has_liked': user_has_liked,
        'user_has_favorited': user_has_favorited,
        'user_has_bookmarked': user_has_bookmarked,
    })

@login_required
def post_create(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = PostForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            post = form.save(commit=False)
            post.author = request.user
            post.save()
            form.save_m2m()
            return redirect('post_detail', slug=post.slug)
    else:
        form = PostForm()

    return render(request, 'blog/post_form.html', {'form': form})

def category_detail(request, slug):
    category = get_object_or_404(Category, slug=slug)
    posts = category.posts.filter(status='published').order_by('-created_at')
    return render(request, 'blog/category_detail.html', {
        'category': category,
        'posts': posts,
    })

def tag_detail(request, slug):
    tag = get_object_or_404(Tag, slug=slug)
    posts = tag.posts.filter(status='published').order_by('-created_at')
    return render(request, 'blog/tag_detail.html', {
        'tag': tag,
        'posts': posts,
    })

13. Step 11 — Interaction Views

These cover:

comments
likes
favorites
bookmarks

`interactions/views.py`

from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.shortcuts import get_object_or_404, redirect
from django.contrib import messages
from blog.models import Post
from .forms import CommentForm
from notifications_app.models import Notification

@login_required
def add_comment(request, slug):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, slug=slug)

    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = CommentForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            comment = form.save(commit=False)
            comment.post = post
            comment.user = request.user
            comment.save()

            if post.author != request.user:
                Notification.objects.create(
                    recipient=post.author,
                    message=f"{request.user.username} commented on your post.",
                    link=f"/posts/{post.slug}/"
                )

            messages.success(request, "Comment added successfully.")

    return redirect('post_detail', slug=slug)

@login_required
def toggle_like(request, slug):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, slug=slug)
    if post.liked_by.filter(id=request.user.id).exists():
        post.liked_by.remove(request.user)
    else:
        post.liked_by.add(request.user)
    return redirect('post_detail', slug=slug)

@login_required
def toggle_favorite(request, slug):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, slug=slug)
    if post.favorited_by.filter(id=request.user.id).exists():
        post.favorited_by.remove(request.user)
    else:
        post.favorited_by.add(request.user)
    return redirect('post_detail', slug=slug)

@login_required
def toggle_bookmark(request, slug):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, slug=slug)
    if post.bookmarked_by.filter(id=request.user.id).exists():
        post.bookmarked_by.remove(request.user)
    else:
        post.bookmarked_by.add(request.user)
    return redirect('post_detail', slug=slug)

14. Step 12 — Dashboard View

This is Tutorial 44.

`dashboard/views.py`

from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.shortcuts import render
from blog.models import Post
from interactions.models import Comment

@login_required
def dashboard_view(request):
    user = request.user

    total_posts = Post.objects.filter(author=user).count()
    published_posts = Post.objects.filter(author=user, status='published').count()
    draft_posts = Post.objects.filter(author=user, status='draft').count()
    total_comments = Comment.objects.filter(post__author=user).count()

    recent_posts = Post.objects.filter(author=user).order_by('-created_at')[:5]
    recent_comments = Comment.objects.filter(post__author=user).select_related('post', 'user').order_by('-created_at')[:5]

    return render(request, 'dashboard/dashboard.html', {
        'total_posts': total_posts,
        'published_posts': published_posts,
        'draft_posts': draft_posts,
        'total_comments': total_comments,
        'recent_posts': recent_posts,
        'recent_comments': recent_comments,
    })

15. Step 13 — Notifications Views

`notifications_app/views.py`

from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.shortcuts import render, get_object_or_404, redirect
from .models import Notification

@login_required
def notification_list(request):
    notifications = request.user.notifications.all()
    return render(request, 'notifications/notification_list.html', {'notifications': notifications})

@login_required
def mark_notification_as_read(request, notification_id):
    notification = get_object_or_404(Notification, id=notification_id, recipient=request.user)
    notification.is_read = True
    notification.save()

    if notification.link:
        return redirect(notification.link)
    return redirect('notification_list')

@login_required
def mark_all_notifications_as_read(request):
    request.user.notifications.filter(is_read=False).update(is_read=True)
    return redirect('notification_list')

`notifications_app/context_processors.py`

def notification_count(request):
    if request.user.is_authenticated:
        return {
            'unread_notification_count': request.user.notifications.filter(is_read=False).count()
        }
    return {'unread_notification_count': 0}

16. Step 14 — Contact View

This is Tutorials 36 and 37 together.

`contact/views.py`

from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from django.contrib import messages
from django.core.mail import send_mail
from django.conf import settings
from .forms import ContactForm

def contact_view(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = ContactForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            name = form.cleaned_data['name']
            email = form.cleaned_data['email']
            subject = form.cleaned_data['subject']
            message = form.cleaned_data['message']

            full_message = f"""
Name: {name}
Email: {email}
Subject: {subject}

Message:
{message}
"""

            send_mail(
                subject=f"Contact Form: {subject}",
                message=full_message,
                from_email=settings.DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL,
                recipient_list=[settings.CONTACT_EMAIL],
                fail_silently=False,
            )

            messages.success(request, "Your message has been sent successfully.")
            return redirect('contact')
    else:
        form = ContactForm()

    return render(request, 'contact/contact.html', {'form': form})

17. Step 15 — URLs

`devarticles_hub/urls.py`

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include
from django.conf import settings
from django.conf.urls.static import static
from django.contrib.auth import views as auth_views

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),

    path('', include('blog.urls')),
    path('accounts/', include('accounts.urls')),
    path('interactions/', include('interactions.urls')),
    path('notifications/', include('notifications_app.urls')),
    path('contact/', include('contact.urls')),
    path('dashboard/', include('dashboard.urls')),

    path('login/', auth_views.LoginView.as_view(template_name='accounts/login.html'), name='login'),
    path('logout/', auth_views.LogoutView.as_view(), name='logout'),
]

if settings.DEBUG:
    urlpatterns += static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT)

`accounts/urls.py`

from django.urls import path
from .views import register_view, profile_view, edit_profile

urlpatterns = [
    path('register/', register_view, name='register'),
    path('profile/', profile_view, name='profile'),
    path('profile/edit/', edit_profile, name='edit_profile'),
]

`blog/urls.py`

from django.urls import path
from .views import post_list, post_detail, post_create, category_detail, tag_detail

urlpatterns = [
    path('', post_list, name='post_list'),
    path('posts/create/', post_create, name='post_create'),
    path('posts/<slug:slug>/', post_detail, name='post_detail'),
    path('category/<slug:slug>/', category_detail, name='category_detail'),
    path('tag/<slug:slug>/', tag_detail, name='tag_detail'),
]

`interactions/urls.py`

from django.urls import path
from .views import add_comment, toggle_like, toggle_favorite, toggle_bookmark

urlpatterns = [
    path('posts/<slug:slug>/comment/', add_comment, name='add_comment'),
    path('posts/<slug:slug>/like/', toggle_like, name='toggle_like'),
    path('posts/<slug:slug>/favorite/', toggle_favorite, name='toggle_favorite'),
    path('posts/<slug:slug>/bookmark/', toggle_bookmark, name='toggle_bookmark'),
]

`notifications_app/urls.py`

from django.urls import path
from .views import notification_list, mark_notification_as_read, mark_all_notifications_as_read

urlpatterns = [
    path('', notification_list, name='notification_list'),
    path('read/<int:notification_id>/', mark_notification_as_read, name='mark_notification_as_read'),
    path('read-all/', mark_all_notifications_as_read, name='mark_all_notifications_as_read'),
]

`contact/urls.py`

from django.urls import path
from .views import contact_view

urlpatterns = [
    path('', contact_view, name='contact'),
]

`dashboard/urls.py`

from django.urls import path
from .views import dashboard_view

urlpatterns = [
    path('', dashboard_view, name='dashboard'),
]

18. Full main templates

Below are the last full templates you asked for.

`templates/base.html`

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>{% block title %}DevArticles Hub{% endblock %}</title>
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <style>
        body {
            background: #f8f9fa;
        }
        .navbar-brand {
            font-weight: 700;
        }
        .card-stat h3 {
            font-size: 1rem;
            color: #6c757d;
        }
        .card-stat p {
            font-size: 2rem;
            font-weight: bold;
            margin: 0;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>

    {% include 'includes/navbar.html' %}

    <div class="container mt-4">
        {% include 'includes/messages.html' %}
        {% block content %}{% endblock %}
    </div>

    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.3/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

`templates/includes/navbar.html`

<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-dark bg-dark">
    <div class="container">
        <a class="navbar-brand" href="{% url 'post_list' %}">DevArticles Hub</a>

        <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#mainNav">
            <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
        </button>

        <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="mainNav">
            <ul class="navbar-nav me-auto">
                <li class="nav-item">
                    <a class="nav-link" href="{% url 'post_list' %}">Articles</a>
                </li>

                {% if user.is_authenticated %}
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link" href="{% url 'dashboard' %}">Dashboard</a>
                    </li>
                {% endif %}

                <li class="nav-item">
                    <a class="nav-link" href="{% url 'contact' %}">Contact</a>
                </li>
            </ul>

            <ul class="navbar-nav ms-auto">
                {% if user.is_authenticated %}
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link" href="{% url 'notification_list' %}">
                            Notifications
                            {% if unread_notification_count > 0 %}
                                <span class="badge bg-danger">{{ unread_notification_count }}</span>
                            {% endif %}
                        </a>
                    </li>

                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link" href="{% url 'profile' %}">{{ user.username }}</a>
                    </li>

                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <form method="post" action="{% url 'logout' %}">
                            {% csrf_token %}
                            <button type="submit" class="btn btn-link nav-link" style="display:inline; padding: 8px 12px;">Logout</button>
                        </form>
                    </li>
                {% else %}
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link" href="{% url 'login' %}">Login</a>
                    </li>
                    <li class="nav-item">
                        <a class="nav-link" href="{% url 'register' %}">Register</a>
                    </li>
                {% endif %}
            </ul>
        </div>
    </div>
</nav>

`templates/includes/messages.html`

{% if messages %}
    {% for message in messages %}
        <div class="alert alert-{{ message.tags|default:'info' }} alert-dismissible fade show" role="alert">
            {{ message }}
            <button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="alert"></button>
        </div>
    {% endfor %}
{% endif %}

`templates/includes/pagination.html`

{% if page_obj.has_other_pages %}
<nav>
    <ul class="pagination">
        {% if page_obj.has_previous %}
            <li class="page-item">
                <a class="page-link" href="?q={{ query }}&category={{ selected_category }}&sort={{ selected_sort }}&page={{ page_obj.previous_page_number }}">
                    Previous
                </a>
            </li>
        {% endif %}

        <li class="page-item active">
            <span class="page-link">
                {{ page_obj.number }}
            </span>
        </li>

        {% if page_obj.has_next %}
            <li class="page-item">
                <a class="page-link" href="?q={{ query }}&category={{ selected_category }}&sort={{ selected_sort }}&page={{ page_obj.next_page_number }}">
                    Next
                </a>
            </li>
        {% endif %}
    </ul>
</nav>
{% endif %}

`templates/accounts/register.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Register{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="row justify-content-center">
    <div class="col-md-6">
        <div class="card shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h1 class="h3 mb-4">Create Account</h1>
                <form method="post">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    {{ form.as_p }}
                    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Register</button>
                </form>
                <p class="mt-3">
                    Already have an account?
                    <a href="{% url 'login' %}">Login</a>
                </p>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/accounts/login.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Login{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="row justify-content-center">
    <div class="col-md-5">
        <div class="card shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h1 class="h3 mb-4">Login</h1>
                <form method="post">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    {{ form.as_p }}
                    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-dark">Login</button>
                </form>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/accounts/profile.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}My Profile{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="card shadow-sm">
    <div class="card-body">
        <h1 class="h3">{{ profile.user.username }}</h1>
        <p><strong>Email:</strong> {{ profile.user.email }}</p>
        <p><strong>Phone:</strong> {{ profile.user.phone }}</p>
        <p><strong>Bio:</strong> {{ profile.user.bio|default:"No bio yet." }}</p>
        <p><strong>Website:</strong> {{ profile.website|default:"Not set" }}</p>
        <p><strong>Location:</strong> {{ profile.location|default:"Not set" }}</p>

        {% if profile.profile_picture %}
            <img src="{{ profile.profile_picture.url }}" alt="Profile picture" class="img-fluid rounded" style="max-width: 180px;">
        {% endif %}

        <div class="mt-3">
            <a href="{% url 'edit_profile' %}" class="btn btn-primary">Edit Profile</a>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/accounts/edit_profile.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Edit Profile{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="row justify-content-center">
    <div class="col-md-6">
        <div class="card shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h1 class="h3 mb-4">Edit Profile</h1>
                <form method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    {{ form.as_p }}
                    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-success">Save Changes</button>
                </form>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/blog/post_list.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Articles{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<h1 class="mb-4">Articles</h1>

<form method="get" class="row g-3 mb-4">
    <div class="col-md-4">
        <input type="text" name="q" class="form-control" placeholder="Search articles..." value="{{ query }}">
    </div>

    <div class="col-md-3">
        <select name="category" class="form-select">
            <option value="">All Categories</option>
            {% for category in categories %}
                <option value="{{ category.id }}"
                    {% if selected_category == category.id|stringformat:"s" %}selected{% endif %}>
                    {{ category.name }}
                </option>
            {% endfor %}
        </select>
    </div>

    <div class="col-md-3">
        <select name="sort" class="form-select">
            <option value="newest" {% if selected_sort == 'newest' %}selected{% endif %}>Newest First</option>
            <option value="oldest" {% if selected_sort == 'oldest' %}selected{% endif %}>Oldest First</option>
            <option value="title_asc" {% if selected_sort == 'title_asc' %}selected{% endif %}>Title A–Z</option>
            <option value="title_desc" {% if selected_sort == 'title_desc' %}selected{% endif %}>Title Z–A</option>
            <option value="most_viewed" {% if selected_sort == 'most_viewed' %}selected{% endif %}>Most Viewed</option>
        </select>
    </div>

    <div class="col-md-2 d-grid">
        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Apply</button>
    </div>
</form>

<div class="mb-3">
    <a href="{% url 'post_list' %}" class="btn btn-outline-secondary btn-sm">Reset</a>
</div>

{% for post in page_obj %}
    <div class="card mb-3 shadow-sm">
        <div class="card-body">
            <h2 class="h4">
                <a href="{% url 'post_detail' post.slug %}" class="text-decoration-none">{{ post.title }}</a>
            </h2>
            <p class="text-muted mb-2">
                By {{ post.author.username }} |
                {{ post.created_at|date:"M d, Y" }}
                {% if post.category %}| {{ post.category.name }}{% endif %}
            </p>
            <p>{{ post.content|truncatewords:30 }}</p>
        </div>
    </div>
{% empty %}
    <p>No articles found.</p>
{% endfor %}

{% include 'includes/pagination.html' %}
{% endblock %}

`templates/blog/post_detail.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}{{ post.title }}{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="card shadow-sm mb-4">
    <div class="card-body">
        <h1>{{ post.title }}</h1>
        <p class="text-muted">
            By {{ post.author.username }} |
            {{ post.created_at|date:"M d, Y" }}
            {% if post.category %}| {{ post.category.name }}{% endif %}
        </p>

        <div class="mb-3">
            {% for tag in post.tags.all %}
                <a href="{% url 'tag_detail' tag.slug %}" class="badge bg-secondary text-decoration-none">{{ tag.name }}</a>
            {% endfor %}
        </div>

        <p>{{ post.content|linebreaks }}</p>

        <div class="mt-4 d-flex gap-2 flex-wrap">
            {% if user.is_authenticated %}
                <form method="post" action="{% url 'toggle_like' post.slug %}">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    <button class="btn btn-outline-danger">
                        {% if user_has_liked %}Unlike{% else %}Like{% endif %}
                        ({{ post.total_likes }})
                    </button>
                </form>

                <form method="post" action="{% url 'toggle_favorite' post.slug %}">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    <button class="btn btn-outline-warning">
                        {% if user_has_favorited %}Unfavorite{% else %}Favorite{% endif %}
                        ({{ post.total_favorites }})
                    </button>
                </form>

                <form method="post" action="{% url 'toggle_bookmark' post.slug %}">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    <button class="btn btn-outline-primary">
                        {% if user_has_bookmarked %}Remove Bookmark{% else %}Bookmark{% endif %}
                        ({{ post.total_bookmarks }})
                    </button>
                </form>
            {% endif %}
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="card shadow-sm mb-4">
    <div class="card-body">
        <h2 class="h4">Comments</h2>

        {% for comment in comments %}
            <div class="border-bottom py-3">
                <strong>{{ comment.user.username }}</strong>
                <small class="text-muted">— {{ comment.created_at|date:"M d, Y H:i" }}</small>
                <p class="mb-0">{{ comment.content|linebreaks }}</p>
            </div>
        {% empty %}
            <p>No comments yet.</p>
        {% endfor %}
    </div>
</div>

<div class="card shadow-sm">
    <div class="card-body">
        <h2 class="h4">Leave a Comment</h2>

        {% if user.is_authenticated %}
            <form method="post" action="{% url 'add_comment' post.slug %}">
                {% csrf_token %}
                {{ comment_form.as_p }}
                <button type="submit" class="btn btn-success">Post Comment</button>
            </form>
        {% else %}
            <p><a href="{% url 'login' %}">Login</a> to comment.</p>
        {% endif %}
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/blog/post_form.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Create Post{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="row justify-content-center">
    <div class="col-md-8">
        <div class="card shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h1 class="h3 mb-4">Create New Article</h1>
                <form method="post">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    {{ form.as_p }}
                    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Save Post</button>
                </form>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/blog/category_detail.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}{{ category.name }}{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<h1>Category: {{ category.name }}</h1>
{% if category.description %}
    <p>{{ category.description }}</p>
{% endif %}

{% for post in posts %}
    <div class="card mb-3 shadow-sm">
        <div class="card-body">
            <h2 class="h4">
                <a href="{% url 'post_detail' post.slug %}" class="text-decoration-none">{{ post.title }}</a>
            </h2>
            <p class="text-muted">{{ post.created_at|date:"M d, Y" }}</p>
        </div>
    </div>
{% empty %}
    <p>No posts in this category.</p>
{% endfor %}
{% endblock %}

`templates/blog/tag_detail.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}{{ tag.name }}{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<h1>Tag: {{ tag.name }}</h1>

{% for post in posts %}
    <div class="card mb-3 shadow-sm">
        <div class="card-body">
            <h2 class="h4">
                <a href="{% url 'post_detail' post.slug %}" class="text-decoration-none">{{ post.title }}</a>
            </h2>
            <p class="text-muted">{{ post.created_at|date:"M d, Y" }}</p>
        </div>
    </div>
{% empty %}
    <p>No posts with this tag.</p>
{% endfor %}
{% endblock %}

`templates/dashboard/dashboard.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Dashboard{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<h1 class="mb-4">My Dashboard</h1>

<div class="row g-4 mb-4">
    <div class="col-md-3">
        <div class="card card-stat shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h3>Total Posts</h3>
                <p>{{ total_posts }}</p>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    <div class="col-md-3">
        <div class="card card-stat shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h3>Published</h3>
                <p>{{ published_posts }}</p>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    <div class="col-md-3">
        <div class="card card-stat shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h3>Drafts</h3>
                <p>{{ draft_posts }}</p>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    <div class="col-md-3">
        <div class="card card-stat shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h3>Total Comments</h3>
                <p>{{ total_comments }}</p>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="row g-4">
    <div class="col-md-6">
        <div class="card shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h2 class="h5">Recent Posts</h2>
                <ul class="list-group list-group-flush">
                    {% for post in recent_posts %}
                        <li class="list-group-item">
                            <a href="{% url 'post_detail' post.slug %}">{{ post.title }}</a>
                        </li>
                    {% empty %}
                        <li class="list-group-item">No posts yet.</li>
                    {% endfor %}
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>

    <div class="col-md-6">
        <div class="card shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h2 class="h5">Recent Comments</h2>
                <ul class="list-group list-group-flush">
                    {% for comment in recent_comments %}
                        <li class="list-group-item">
                            {{ comment.user.username }} on
                            <strong>{{ comment.post.title }}</strong>
                        </li>
                    {% empty %}
                        <li class="list-group-item">No comments yet.</li>
                    {% endfor %}
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/notifications/notification_list.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Notifications{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center mb-4">
    <h1>My Notifications</h1>
    <a href="{% url 'mark_all_notifications_as_read' %}" class="btn btn-outline-primary btn-sm">
        Mark all as read
    </a>
</div>

<div class="card shadow-sm">
    <div class="card-body">
        <ul class="list-group list-group-flush">
            {% for notification in notifications %}
                <li class="list-group-item {% if not notification.is_read %}fw-bold{% endif %}">
                    <a href="{% url 'mark_notification_as_read' notification.id %}" class="text-decoration-none">
                        {{ notification.message }}
                    </a>
                    <br>
                    <small class="text-muted">{{ notification.created_at|date:"M d, Y H:i" }}</small>
                </li>
            {% empty %}
                <li class="list-group-item">No notifications yet.</li>
            {% endfor %}
        </ul>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

`templates/contact/contact.html`

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Contact{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="row justify-content-center">
    <div class="col-md-7">
        <div class="card shadow-sm">
            <div class="card-body">
                <h1 class="h3 mb-4">Contact Us</h1>
                <form method="post">
                    {% csrf_token %}
                    {{ form.as_p }}
                    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Send Message</button>
                </form>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>
{% endblock %}

19. Admin registration

`accounts/admin.py`

from django.contrib import admin
from django.contrib.auth.admin import UserAdmin
from .models import CustomUser, Profile

@admin.register(CustomUser)
class CustomUserAdmin(UserAdmin):
    fieldsets = UserAdmin.fieldsets + (
        ('Additional Info', {'fields': ('phone', 'bio')}),
    )

admin.site.register(Profile)

`blog/admin.py`

from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Category, Tag, Post

@admin.register(Category)
class CategoryAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ('name', 'slug')
    prepopulated_fields = {'slug': ('name',)}

@admin.register(Tag)
class TagAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ('name', 'slug')
    prepopulated_fields = {'slug': ('name',)}

@admin.register(Post)
class PostAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ('title', 'author', 'category', 'status', 'created_at')
    list_filter = ('status', 'category', 'tags')
    prepopulated_fields = {'slug': ('title',)}

`interactions/admin.py`

from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Comment

@admin.register(Comment)
class CommentAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ('user', 'post', 'created_at', 'is_approved')
    list_filter = ('is_approved',)

`notifications_app/admin.py`

from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Notification

@admin.register(Notification)
class NotificationAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ('recipient', 'message', 'is_read', 'created_at')
    list_filter = ('is_read',)

20. Final setup commands

After creating the files:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py createsuperuser
python manage.py runserver

21. Final explanation of why this project is strong

This project is strong because it is not a random collection of tutorial files.
It is one coherent application where every tutorial connects naturally to the others:

the custom user model supports long-term flexibility
profiles enrich the user system
signals automate profile creation
posts are the content core
categories and tags organize content
search, filter, and sort make browsing practical
comments add interaction
likes, favorites, and bookmarks add engagement and personalization
notifications connect users to system events
the dashboard turns raw data into useful summaries
the contact form and email sending connect the platform to the outside world

That is exactly what a real Django learning project should do: not just demonstrate isolated syntax, but show how features work together in one full system.

22. Recommended next step

The next best step is to build this in this order:

settings.py
accounts app
blog app
interactions app
notifications_app
contact
dashboard
templates
admin
final polishing

That order keeps dependencies clean and makes the project easier to debug.

🎁 Bonus: Watch the full YouTube video demonstration where we build and implement this Django project step by step : 👉 click here.

💬 Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

DevArticles Hub: A Full-Stack Django Content Platform

Project Title

Project Goal

1. What each tutorial covers inside this project

Tutorial 1 — Building a Contact Form in Django

Tutorial 2 — Sending Emails with Django

Tutorial 3 — Django Signals

Tutorial 4 — Custom User Model in Django

Tutorial 5 — User Profiles in Django

Tutorial 6 — Comment System in Django

Tutorial 7 — Like / Favorite / Bookmark System

Tutorial 8 — Category and Tag Systems

Tutorial 9 — Dashboard Creation in Django

Tutorial 10 — Notifications in Django

Tutorial 11 — Search + Filter + Sort in Django

2. Final project architecture

3. Step 1 — Create the project

4. Step 2 — settings.py

devarticles_hub/settings.py

5. Step 3 — Custom User + Profile

Why we do this

accounts/models.py

6. Step 4 — Signals

Why signals here

accounts/signals.py

accounts/apps.py

7. Step 5 — Categories, Tags, and Posts

Why categories and tags exist

blog/models.py

8. Step 6 — Comments

Why comments matter

interactions/models.py

9. Step 7 — Notifications

Why notifications matter

notifications_app/models.py

10. Step 8 — Forms

accounts/forms.py

blog/forms.py

interactions/forms.py

contact/forms.py

11. Step 9 — Account Views

accounts/views.py

12. Step 10 — Blog Views with Search + Filter + Sort

blog/views.py

13. Step 11 — Interaction Views

interactions/views.py

14. Step 12 — Dashboard View

dashboard/views.py

15. Step 13 — Notifications Views

notifications_app/views.py

notifications_app/context_processors.py

16. Step 14 — Contact View

contact/views.py

17. Step 15 — URLs

devarticles_hub/urls.py

accounts/urls.py

blog/urls.py

interactions/urls.py

notifications_app/urls.py

contact/urls.py

dashboard/urls.py