# Django Micro-SaaS Boilerplate 🚀
### A boilerplate that gives you a head start in monetization 🎉  

## Free 🆚 Premium


| Free                    | [Premium](https://vibecodesaas.com)|
|-------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Django                  | Django                             |
| Tailwind + DaisyUI      | Tailwind + DaisyUI                 |
| HTMX                    | HTMX                               |
| Stripe (one-off payment)| Stripe (recurring)                 |
| Django-allauth          | Django-allauth                     |
| Postgresql              | Postgresql                         |
| Docker                  | Docker                             |
 

 

### Get the premium version today 🤑

Start charging your users today → [Premium SaaS Boilerplate, ~~$199~~ $99 Launch Discount](https://vibecodesaas.com)  

**🛑 BEFORE YOU BUY, READ THIS 🛑**  

1. **Please try the free version first**
2. Support will be limited, because I just become a father :D but will help out whenever I can.    
3. Tested thoroughly but no guarantee it will work for you. 
4. Code is unprofessional  
5. It's been tested in WSL2 and Ubuntu 24  
6. This repo will be as far as documentation goes
7. You can expect the same results with the premium version

 

### Monetization Playbook 📖

1. Find a profitable idea - does it provide 'value' for others:  
    - Make or save money  
    - Save time, less work  
    - Overcome technical barrier  
    - More followers  
    - Go viral - more views, more likes, more shares, more save  
    - Increase exposure  

2. Validate idea in 2 weeks  
    - Build a free MVP in no more than 5 days  
    - Share on Reddit  
    - Collect feedbacks, reviews  
    - Put up a landing page using reviews as testimonials, include premium version  
    - Post on X, LinkedIn  

3. Marketing strategy. I tried SEO, ads, organic posts, newsletter but here's the marketing funnel I settled on:  
    - Post lessons learned in a very specific niche. People appreciate it when you give them something without expecting anything in return  
    - Ask people to leave a comment  
    - Trigger auto DM. You can use Manychat but I am building my own. This turns cold traffic to warm leads  
    - Make your offer privately in DM  

4. Storytelling to build trust and make sales even if you are a bad writer:  
    - Hook - be specific (niche audience, results) and quantifable (revenue, churn, timeframe)  
    - Backstory - share the struggle or problem that prompted you to look for a solution - people can relate when you have been in their shoe  
    - Breakthru - sudden shift in mindset, discovered something new  
    - Takeaway - share what you have learn, give actionable step by step guide  
    - CTA - ask people to comment (for marketing funnel) or ask people to share and save (for algo)  

5. My favourite hooks collection that can't be found on Google:  
    - "Is it possible to..."  
    - "Can I..."  
    - "It took me X months, but I finally figured out how to..."  
    - "How I..."  
    - "I failed..."  


 


## Installation ⚙️

This project is designed to run with **Docker**

### Prerequisites

- **Docker** (with Docker Compose) installed  
  - Windows / macOS: Download from [https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/)
  - Linux: Follow your distro guide (e.g. `sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose` on Ubuntu)

**Note:** You do **not** need to install Python, PostgreSQL, Node.js, or any other tools locally — Docker handles everything.

 


### Step-by-Step Setup

1. **Clone the repository**
   ```bash
   git clone https://github.com/cangeorgecode/Django_Boilerplate_Free.git app
   cd app

2. **Create .env**  
    ```bash
    DEBUG = 'True' 
    SECRET_KEY = # You need to copy from settings.py
    ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1,0.0.0.0,[::1]

    # Postgres
    DB_HOST = ''
    DB_NAME = ''
    DB_USER = ''
    DB_PASSWORD = ''
    DB_SSLMODE = 'prefer' # ← Change to require in prod 

    # Stripe
    STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY = ''
    STRIPE_SECRET_KEY = ''
    STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET = ''
    STRIPE_PRODUCT_ID = ''
    STRIPE_PRICE_ID = ''

    # For production, uncomment
    # DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@host:5432/dbname
    # DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=proj.settings.production
    ```

3. **Install nginx (Skip to step 4 if you are testing on local machine)**  
    I am using nginx in the host, not the docker nginx  

    ```bash
    sudo apt update  
    ```   

    ```bash
    sudo apt install nginx
    ```  

    **Configure /etc/nginx/sites-available/<app_name> as follows**  

    ```bash
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name <domain_name>;

    location /static/ {
            alias /var/www/static/;
            expires 30d;
            access_log off;
        }

        location / {
            proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
            proxy_set_header Host $host;
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        }
    }
    ```  

    ```bash
    sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/<app_name> /etc/nginx/sites-enabled

    ```

    **Create host static dir**  
    ```bash
    sudo mkdir -p /var/www/static
    sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/static
    ```

    **Copy static files from container to host**  
    ```bash
    docker compose cp web:/app/staticfiles/. /var/www/static/
    ```

    **Reload nginx**
    ```bash
    sudo nginx -t
    sudo systemctl restart nginx
    ```


4. **Build the application**  
    ```bash
    docker compose build --no-cache
    ```

    **Run the application in foreground**
    ```bash
    docker compose up
    ```

    **Run application in background**
    ```bash
    docker compose up -d
    ```

    **Supports Tailwind hot reload in development**  
    ```bash
    docker compose up -d  
    docker compose run --rm web python manage.py tailwind dev
    ```

5. **Install certbot and get https for your app (Skip this step if you are testing on local machine)**
    ```bash
    sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
    sudo certbot --nginx -d <domain_name>
    ```  

6. **Open the app (locally)**
    Go to: http://localhost:8000   

7. **Troubleshooting commands**  
    Here are some places to take a look at if things don't work:  

    **Docker**  
    ```bash
    docker ps
    docker compose logs web  
    docker compose logs db
    ```  

    **Nginx**  
    ```bash
    sudo tail -20 /var/www/logs/nginx/error.log

    sudo systemctl status nginx
    ```


&nbsp;



## Free Hosting on Linode 💰

- I use Docker from the marketplace on Linode for this set up  
- Hosting: $10/month (Get $60 credit on Linode with my [referral link](https://www.linode.com/lp/refer/?r=9ff0cd12e24c4e14bb041fd505242e605d1cc36d)


&nbsp;


## Contact me 📧  

Hi, my name is George, a self-taught developer. My goal is to build a bunch of saas, make money, quit my job, become financially independent, so that I can spend time with my family. 

- [X](https://x.com/joji_jiji)

&nbsp;


P.S. If you like my project, a ⭐ would mean a lot to me, cheers! 🍻