Build Python web apps with Flask, Django, and live deployment
Build real web applications with Python. Start with Flask to understand how web frameworks work, then Django for full applications, REST APIs, and deploy something live with a real URL.
From 1,000+ Python learners
What you build in this path
Six real projects across the path — each module ends with something that works.
First Flask page
A working web page served by Python — your first route, template, and response.
Database-backed app
An app that creates, reads, updates, and deletes data from a real SQLite database.
User auth system
Registration, login, logout, and session management with hashed passwords.
Django admin app
The same app rebuilt in Django, using the built-in admin panel and ORM.
REST API
A JSON API with proper endpoints, status codes, and auth using Flask and DRF.
Live deployed project
Your capstone app deployed live — a real URL you can share with anyone.
Python Web Development curriculum — 7 modules
Prerequisite: Python Intermediate. Covers two frameworks, databases, auth, APIs, and deployment.
Flask Introduction
How web frameworks work, routing, templates with Jinja2, handling GET and POST requests. Build your first web app — a working page served by Python.
Databases with SQLite and SQLAlchemy
Relational database fundamentals, writing SQL, using SQLAlchemy ORM to define models and query data. Connect your Flask app to a real database.
User Authentication
Sessions, cookies, password hashing, login and logout flows. Build a secure user registration and authentication system from scratch.
Django Introduction
Django's batteries-included model: apps, models, views, templates, URL routing, and the admin panel. Build the same app in Django and understand the tradeoffs.
REST API Design
HTTP methods, JSON responses, status codes, API versioning. Build a REST API with Flask and then with Django REST Framework.
Deployment
Environment variables, production config, WSGI servers, and deploying a live Python web app on a real host. Your project gets a real URL.
Capstone Project
A full-stack web application: database-backed, user-authenticated, with a REST API and a deployed live URL. A real portfolio piece.
Why the path teaches both Flask and Django
Most courses teach one framework and leave you guessing why. Flask and Django solve the same problem differently — and understanding both makes you a better web developer regardless of which you end up using professionally.
Flask teaches you how web frameworks work. It's minimal: you write the routing, you choose the template engine, you configure the database layer. Nothing is hidden. This means more work, but it also means real understanding. When something goes wrong in Flask, you know exactly where to look.
Django teaches you what a modern web framework gives you for free. The admin interface, the built-in ORM, the authentication system, the migrations — Django has opinions about structure, and those opinions match what most real-world projects need. Coming to Django after Flask, you appreciate what it's doing for you instead of feeling like magic.
What web dev learners say
“I'd tried Flask tutorials on YouTube and always got lost at databases. Py built it up in stages — first static routes, then templates, then the DB. Suddenly it made sense.”
“The deployment module alone was worth it. Every tutorial stops at localhost. Py actually walked me through putting it live. I have a real URL now.”
“Flask taught me *how* web frameworks work. Django felt obvious after that. I actually understand what's happening instead of just following docs.”
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know HTML and CSS to learn Python web development?
Basic HTML helps, but you don't need much — the path introduces templates in context and explains the HTML you need as you encounter it. The focus is on the Python side: routes, logic, databases, and APIs.
Should I learn Flask or Django first?
Flask first. Flask is simpler and teaches the fundamentals of how web frameworks work without hiding the machinery. Once you understand routing, templates, and databases in Flask, Django's structure makes much more sense.
What's the difference between Flask and Django?
Flask is minimal — you build what you need. Django is a full-stack framework with batteries included: admin panel, ORM, auth system out of the box. Flask is better for learning and APIs; Django is better for full applications.
Will I actually deploy a real web app?
Yes. The final module walks through deploying your project live so it has a real URL. You finish the path with something you can show anyone — not just code on your laptop.
How long does the Web Development path take?
With 30–45 minutes a day, most learners complete the Web Development path in 8–10 weeks. It's the longest path because it covers two frameworks plus databases, auth, and deployment.