Django Micro-SaaS Boilerplate 🚀

A boilerplate that gives you a head start in monetization 🎉

Free 🆚 Premium

Free	Premium
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

🛑 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/
  • 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

   git clone https://github.com/cangeorgecode/Django_Boilerplate_Free.git app
   cd app
   

2. Create .env

   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

   sudo apt update  

   sudo apt install nginx

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

   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;
       }
   }

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

   Create host static dir

   sudo mkdir -p /var/www/static
   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/static

   Copy static files from container to host

   docker compose cp web:/app/staticfiles/. /var/www/static/

   Reload nginx

   sudo nginx -t
   sudo systemctl restart nginx

4. Build the application

   docker compose build --no-cache

   Run the application in foreground

   docker compose up

   Run application in background

   docker compose up -d

   Supports Tailwind hot reload in development

   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)

   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

   docker ps
   docker compose logs web  
   docker compose logs db

   Nginx

   sudo tail -20 /var/www/logs/nginx/error.log
   
   sudo systemctl status nginx

 

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

 

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

 

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