How to Improve the Performance of a Django Site

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If you’ve worked with Django, you’ve probably experienced a site that feels painfully slow. And then the question comes: is it the server? the queries? maybe me? 
The truth is, improving Django performance isn’t about magic tricks. It’s usually about small, simple practices that, combined, make a huge difference.

1. Pay Attention to Your Queries

The Django ORM is powerful, but if left unchecked it can generate dozens of queries where just one would be enough.
The key is to think carefully about how you load your data:

  • Avoid fetching related information one by one.

  • Try to load everything you need in one go.

This reduces stress on the database and makes your pages much faster.

2. Use Caching

Caching is probably your best ally.
You can cache entire pages or just small parts of a template that are expensive to compute.
This way your server doesn’t have to “rethink” the same thing every time, and your visitors get an instant response.

3. Static and Media Files

CSS, JavaScript, and images should never be served directly from Django in production.
Use a tool like WhiteNoise or, even better, a CDN. They handle compression and caching headers so your assets are delivered fast and efficiently.

4. Database Indexes

If you run frequent searches on certain fields (like email, slug, or created_at), make sure they’re properly indexed.
It’s a small step that can cut response times from seconds down to milliseconds.

5. Go Async Where It Makes Sense

Since Django 3.1 you can use async views. It’s not a cure-all, but especially for external API calls it can save you a lot of waiting time.

6. Small Everyday Habits

  • Always check that DEBUG is set to False in production.

  • Reduce unnecessary middlewares.

  • Run Django with production-grade servers like gunicorn or uvicorn.

  • Monitor performance with tools like Sentry or APM to catch bottlenecks early.

Improving Django performance isn’t about one “big fix”. It’s about many small optimizations that together transform the user experience.

Start with queries, caching, and static file handling — and you’ll notice improvements immediately.

And trust me: there’s no better feeling than watching your site fly.