Guides / Django staging environment for client projects, set up with Django Cloud

Peter van Doorn Django Cloud · Checked against Django 4.2 and newer, October 2026

Django staging environment for client projects, set up with Django Cloud

A staging environment is a second copy of the app where the client approves changes before they reach real users. It stops "can you just change this one thing" from becoming a live incident. You do not need a DevOps team to run one.

What staging is for

• The client reviews a feature on a real URL before it goes live.
• You test migrations on realistic data before they touch production.
• You try new Django or Python versions without risk.

A setup that works for most client projects

1. Two branches: main is production, staging is the next release.
2. Two apps: one deploys from main, the other from staging. Each has its own database and its own settings.
3. Two domains: www.client.com and staging.client.com.
4. Flow: merge to staging, the client approves, merge staging into main.

Rules that prevent accidents

• Never share a database. Staging with the production database is production with a different URL.
• Use different secrets. A leaked staging key must not open anything real.
• Send no real email from staging. Set the email backend to the console or to a catch-all inbox so you do not mail customers.
• Keep staging private. Put it behind a password or an IP allow-list so search engines and strangers stay out.
• Mark it visibly. A coloured banner saying "STAGING" saves someone from entering real data.

Staging data

Use fixtures or an anonymized copy of production. Do not copy real customer data into an environment with weaker access controls; in the EU that can be a data protection problem, not just bad hygiene.

Cost

Staging can be the smallest server and database size, since it handles a handful of visitors. The savings are worth taking: a staging environment that is too expensive is a staging environment that gets deleted.

Or skip it

On Django Cloud you create a second project that deploys from your staging branch, with its own settings and database. Production deploys from main, and a push to either branch goes live.

pip install djangocloud-cli
djangocloud deploy

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