Mini Blog Manager with CRUD, Forms, Messages, and Custom 404 Page

By echrif | April 7, 2026

Mini Blog Manager is a beginner-friendly Django project that teaches students how to build a real blog system with CRUD operations. It covers creating and displaying posts, working with forms and ModelForm, reusing layouts with template inheritance, showing success messages, and creating a custom 404 error page. It is a practical project to move from basic Django theory to a working web application.

Subject

Here is a complete Django project from scratch with solution that uses the concepts from Tutorials 13 to 20.

It includes:

a simple blog
adding posts
editing posts
deleting posts
Django forms
ModelForm
CRUD operations
template inheritance
Django messages
custom 404 page

Project Title

Mini Blog Manager with Django

This project is a small blog application where a user can:

view all blog posts
view one post in detail
add a new post
edit a post
delete a post
see success messages after actions
use a shared base layout
see a custom 404 page when a page does not exist

1) Concepts Covered

This project covers the content of:

Tutorial 1 — Building a Simple Blog with Django

Create and display blog posts.

Tutorial 2 — Django Forms Introduction

Handle form submission with GET/POST.

Tutorial 3 — Django Forms with `forms.py`

Use Django forms properly.

Tutorial 4 — ModelForms in Django

Create forms directly from a model.

Tutorial 5 — CRUD Application in Django

Create, Read, Update, Delete blog posts.

Tutorial 6 — Template Inheritance and Reusable Layouts

Use base.html and shared layout blocks.

Tutorial 7 — Django Messages Framework

Show success messages after add/edit/delete.

Tutorial 8 — Handling 404 and Custom Error Pages

Create a friendly 404.html.

2) Final Project Structure

mini_blog/
│
├── manage.py
├── mini_blog/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   ├── asgi.py
│   └── wsgi.py
│
├── blog/
│   ├── migrations/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── admin.py
│   ├── apps.py
│   ├── forms.py
│   ├── models.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   └── views.py
│
└── templates/
    ├── base.html
    ├── 404.html
    └── blog/
        ├── post_list.html
        ├── post_detail.html
        ├── post_form.html
        ├── post_confirm_delete.html

3) Step 1 — Create the Project

Open terminal and run:

django-admin startproject mini_blog
cd mini_blog
python manage.py startapp blog

4) Step 2 — Register the App

Open mini_blog/settings.py and add blog:

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

Also make sure Django knows your templates folder:

from pathlib import Path

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

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',
            ],
        },
    },
]

5) Step 3 — Create the Model

Open blog/models.py:

from django.db import models
from django.urls import reverse

class Post(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    content = models.TextField()
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    updated_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

    def get_absolute_url(self):
        return reverse('post_detail', args=[self.id])

This model stores:

title of the post
content of the post
creation date
update date

6) Step 4 — Create and Apply Migrations

Run:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

7) Step 5 — Register the Model in Admin

Open blog/admin.py:

from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Post

admin.site.register(Post)

Create admin user:

python manage.py createsuperuser

8) Step 6 — Create the Form

Open blog/forms.py:

from django import forms
from .models import Post

class PostForm(forms.ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        model = Post
        fields = ['title', 'content']
        widgets = {
            'title': forms.TextInput(attrs={
                'class': 'form-control',
                'placeholder': 'Enter post title'
            }),
            'content': forms.Textarea(attrs={
                'class': 'form-control',
                'placeholder': 'Write your content here',
                'rows': 6
            }),
        }

This is a ModelForm, so Django automatically creates the form from the model.

9) Step 7 — Create the Views

Open blog/views.py:

from django.shortcuts import render, get_object_or_404, redirect
from django.contrib import messages
from .models import Post
from .forms import PostForm

def post_list(request):
    posts = Post.objects.order_by('-created_at')
    return render(request, 'blog/post_list.html', {'posts': posts})

def post_detail(request, post_id):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, id=post_id)
    return render(request, 'blog/post_detail.html', {'post': post})

def post_create(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = PostForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            post = form.save()
            messages.success(request, 'Post created successfully.')
            return redirect('post_detail', post_id=post.id)
    else:
        form = PostForm()

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

def post_update(request, post_id):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, id=post_id)

    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = PostForm(request.POST, instance=post)
        if form.is_valid():
            form.save()
            messages.success(request, 'Post updated successfully.')
            return redirect('post_detail', post_id=post.id)
    else:
        form = PostForm(instance=post)

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

def post_delete(request, post_id):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, id=post_id)

    if request.method == 'POST':
        post.delete()
        messages.success(request, 'Post deleted successfully.')
        return redirect('post_list')

    return render(request, 'blog/post_confirm_delete.html', {'post': post})

10) Step 8 — Create Blog URLs

Open blog/urls.py:

from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.post_list, name='post_list'),
    path('post/<int:post_id>/', views.post_detail, name='post_detail'),
    path('create/', views.post_create, name='post_create'),
    path('edit/<int:post_id>/', views.post_update, name='post_update'),
    path('delete/<int:post_id>/', views.post_delete, name='post_delete'),
]

11) Step 9 — Connect App URLs to Project URLs

Open mini_blog/urls.py:

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

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

12) Step 10 — Create the Base Template

Create 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 %}Mini Blog{% endblock %}</title>
    <style>
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            background: #f4f6f9;
            margin: 0;
            padding: 0;
        }
        nav {
            background: #0d6efd;
            padding: 15px 30px;
        }
        nav a {
            color: white;
            text-decoration: none;
            margin-right: 20px;
            font-weight: bold;
        }
        .container {
            width: 85%;
            max-width: 900px;
            margin: 30px auto;
            background: white;
            padding: 25px;
            border-radius: 10px;
            box-shadow: 0 3px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.08);
        }
        .btn {
            display: inline-block;
            padding: 10px 16px;
            text-decoration: none;
            border-radius: 6px;
            margin-top: 10px;
            border: none;
            cursor: pointer;
        }
        .btn-primary {
            background: #0d6efd;
            color: white;
        }
        .btn-warning {
            background: orange;
            color: white;
        }
        .btn-danger {
            background: crimson;
            color: white;
        }
        .btn-secondary {
            background: gray;
            color: white;
        }
        .post-card {
            border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
            padding: 15px 0;
        }
        .message {
            padding: 12px;
            margin-bottom: 20px;
            border-radius: 6px;
            background: #d1e7dd;
            color: #0f5132;
        }
        input, textarea {
            width: 100%;
            padding: 10px;
            margin-top: 6px;
            margin-bottom: 15px;
            border: 1px solid #ccc;
            border-radius: 6px;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>

    <nav>
        <a href="{% url 'post_list' %}">Home</a>
        <a href="{% url 'post_create' %}">Add Post</a>
    </nav>

    <div class="container">
        {% if messages %}
            {% for message in messages %}
                <div class="message">
                    {{ message }}
                </div>
            {% endfor %}
        {% endif %}

        {% block content %}
        {% endblock %}
    </div>

</body>
</html>

This is the shared layout used by all pages.

13) Step 11 — Create Post List Template

Create templates/blog/post_list.html:

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}All Posts{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>All Blog Posts</h1>

    <a href="{% url 'post_create' %}" class="btn btn-primary">Create New Post</a>

    {% for post in posts %}
        <div class="post-card">
            <h2>{{ post.title }}</h2>
            <p>{{ post.content|truncatewords:20 }}</p>
            <small>Created: {{ post.created_at }}</small><br>
            <a href="{% url 'post_detail' post.id %}" class="btn btn-primary">Read More</a>
        </div>
    {% empty %}
        <p>No posts available yet.</p>
    {% endfor %}
{% endblock %}

14) Step 12 — Create Post Detail Template

Create templates/blog/post_detail.html:

{% extends 'base.html' %}

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

{% block content %}
    <h1>{{ post.title }}</h1>
    <p>{{ post.content }}</p>

    <p><strong>Created:</strong> {{ post.created_at }}</p>
    <p><strong>Last updated:</strong> {{ post.updated_at }}</p>

    <a href="{% url 'post_update' post.id %}" class="btn btn-warning">Edit</a>
    <a href="{% url 'post_delete' post.id %}" class="btn btn-danger">Delete</a>
    <a href="{% url 'post_list' %}" class="btn btn-secondary">Back</a>
{% endblock %}

15) Step 13 — Create Form Template

Create templates/blog/post_form.html:

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}{{ page_title }}{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>{{ page_title }}</h1>

    <form method="post">
        {% csrf_token %}
        {{ form.as_p }}
        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Save</button>
        <a href="{% url 'post_list' %}" class="btn btn-secondary">Cancel</a>
    </form>
{% endblock %}

16) Step 14 — Create Delete Confirmation Template

Create templates/blog/post_confirm_delete.html:

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Delete Post{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>Delete Post</h1>
    <p>Are you sure you want to delete this post?</p>

    <h3>{{ post.title }}</h3>

    <form method="post">
        {% csrf_token %}
        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-danger">Yes, Delete</button>
        <a href="{% url 'post_detail' post.id %}" class="btn btn-secondary">Cancel</a>
    </form>
{% endblock %}

17) Step 15 — Create Custom 404 Page

Create templates/404.html:

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Page Not Found{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    <div style="text-align:center; padding:40px;">
        <h1 style="font-size:70px; color:crimson;">404</h1>
        <h2>Page Not Found</h2>
        <p>Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist.</p>
        <a href="{% url 'post_list' %}" class="btn btn-primary">Go Back Home</a>
    </div>
{% endblock %}

18) Step 16 — Test the Project

Run the server:

python manage.py runserver

Now test these pages:

/ → list of posts
/create/ → add new post
/post/1/ → detail page
/edit/1/ → edit post
/delete/1/ → delete post

For 404 test, visit:

/non-existing-page/

To see custom 404.html, set in settings.py:

DEBUG = False
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['127.0.0.1', 'localhost']

19) How This Project Uses Tutorials 13 to 20

Tutorial 13 — Simple Blog

The Post model and blog list/detail pages create the basic blog.

Tutorial 14 — Forms Introduction

The create and update pages handle form submission with GET and POST.

Tutorial 15 — Django Forms with `forms.py`

The file forms.py is used to define the form properly.

Tutorial 16 — ModelForms

PostForm is a ModelForm, so the form comes from the model.

Tutorial 17 — CRUD

The project has:

Create → post_create
Read → post_list, post_detail
Update → post_update
Delete → post_delete

Tutorial 18 — Template Inheritance

All templates extend base.html.

Tutorial 19 — Messages Framework

After create, update, and delete, success messages are shown.

Tutorial 20 — Custom 404 Page

A custom 404.html is included.

20) Full Solution Summary

This project gives the student a complete real mini-application using the lessons from 13 to 20. It is simple enough for beginners but strong enough to teach real Django workflow.

The student learns how to:

create a Django app
define models
create forms
use ModelForm
implement CRUD
organize templates
show success messages
handle missing pages professionally

21) Optional Improvements

After finishing this project, you can improve it by adding:

slug field for cleaner URLs
categories
search form
image upload
user authentication
pagination
Bootstrap styling