Ask HN: Is Django a good choice as a framework for starting up in 2022

9 points by ptrenko 3 years ago | 11 comments

Hi, I'm looking to build my startup currently as a solo founder and am stuck on deciding which language/platform to build with.

I have about 5-6 years of experience with Flask websites and a few months of experience in Django. Django does make a lot of the boilerplate stuff easy, but there's a learning curve with FormView, ListView etc. However the code is cleaner since I don't need to have dozens of endpoints.

I've also considered learning React and have built a small prototype but my productivity is way lower since I'm still learning the nuances.

Has anyone here had experience maintaining Django long term? How has it worked out for you? Is it very expensive from a server/hosting perspective? Is it hard to maintain later? Will I regret choosing Django later?

rlawson 3 years ago |

Go with Django as everything is included to get up and running quickly. Your most precious commodity as a founder is your time and attention. Skip the js and build a web 1.0 site that solves a real problem that people will hand you cash for and then hires some UI people to fancy it up

Jugurtha 3 years ago |

>I'm looking to build my startup currently as a solo founder

Great!

Do more towards this, less about everything you wrote after that.

Can you profitably solve a problem for a market you can reach? Can you then do it repeatably?

You want to build a start-up but your post was about Django, FormView, ListView, and React...

What should you be doing that you're hiding from behind the sudden urge to focus on things that don't matter?

You have six years of experience with Flask; you obviously can write code. The start-up cemetery is filled with billions of lines of code in every imaginable language and framework. Don't worry about that.

ddorian43 3 years ago |

> I have about 5-6 years of experience with Flask websites and a few months of experience in Django.

Use what you know best. Hell, do it in Django so if the startup fails you'll have more chances to land a django job (for some reason they always require django specifically).

> However the code is cleaner since I don't need to have dozens of endpoints.

You can have clean code with Flask too. I don't see why "dozen of endpoints" though.

infamia 3 years ago |

Many startups have successfully used Django including Instagram, Pintrest, Disqus, DoorDash, etc. These and many other startups have scaled a long way without needing to change frameworks. That said, use what you know and will allow you to test your idea ASAP.

aregsar 3 years ago |

You can use wsvincent.com blog and Django books if you go the Django route which I would recommend. Combine that with htmx and alpinejs.

aregsar 3 years ago | |

I found this link that shows how htmx and alpinejs integrate with django. https://www.saaspegasus.com/guides/modern-javascript-for-dja...

leros 3 years ago |

Use what you know. If it works out, you'll be able to afford to hire people that can rebuild it (if that's even needed).

a_lifters_life 3 years ago |

going this route too - django is a solid framework - well supported, and documented. Ill be going this route, and as others said rebuilding entirely once product market fit is found

joshxyz 3 years ago |

yes just go with the teh stack youre familiar with, the goal is to solve their problems and get sales

geenat 3 years ago |

Django + htmx

bjourne 3 years ago |

Yes.