Building a SaaS app using Django
Tags: django, saas, webdev, programming
Published: 2024-07-08 11:45:58

This quick blog will cover the key libraries and tools you need to build your first SaaS project with Django.

## Build an MVP
When creating a SaaS application, it's essential to focus on building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). An MVP is the most basic version of your product that still delivers core value to your users. Instead of spending months perfecting every feature, an MVP allows you to launch quickly, gather user feedback, and iterate based on real-world usage. 

## Build on existing solutions
Don't create everything from scratch, instead see how you can build on well tested existing solutions, libraries etc. This approach not only saves time but also ensures that your application benefits from well-tested and reliable components. 

Start on a boiler plate such as [Django SaaS boiler plate](https://github.com/PaulleDemon/Django-SAAS-Boilerplate)

## Essential Libraries
When working on a Django SaaS app, using essential libraries and tools can really speed things up. They can handle routine tasks like authentication, user management, payments, and background processes, letting you focus on the unique parts of your application.

### 🪪 User Authentication and Management - Django-allauth
Django comes with a built-in user authentication system, but for more advanced features, you might want to use a third-party package like [django-allauth](https://github.com/pennersr/django-allauth).

It also comes with social authentication such as Google auth, Twitter auth, Github auth etc.

### 💳️ Subscription Management - Stripe
Getting paid is very essential to building a sustainable SAAS application, for this you would be required to use a [Payment gateway](https://templates.foxcraft.tech/blog/b/what-are-payment-gateways) such as Stripe, Paypal etc.

I recommend using the official stripe API and stripe python library.

You can read more about [django stripe payment](https://dev.to/paul_freeman/adding-payment-to-django-app-4cc9)

### 📨 Email - AnyMail
Instead of using the default SMTP mail, its recommeded to create an account with an ESP such as SendGrid, Brevo etc, so you are not stuck with default 500 emails per day, instead can send scalable, high deliveribility emails.

You can make use of [anymail](https://github.com/anymail/django-anymail) library as its compatible with Django's existing email and setting this up won't take you more than 10 mins.

You can read more on how to set this up in my other blog about [adding ESP to Djanago](https://dev.to/paul_freeman/adding-esp-to-supercharge-your-django-email-4jkp)


### ⚙️ API - DRF / Django ninja
When developing a SaaS application, you might choose to create a REST API and use a frontend framework like React.js or Vue.js. In this case you'd have two choices, one go with [Django rest framework](https://github.com/encode/django-rest-framework) or go with [Django ninja](https://github.com/vitalik/django-ninja)

Django ninja is designed to be lightweight and efficient, leveraging type hints for data validation and serialization.

**DRF**: Best for projects requiring a robust, feature-rich API with extensive customization options and a large community support. Suitable for complex applications where flexibility and a broad range of features are necessary.

**Django Ninja**: Ideal for projects where performance is critical, and a simple, minimalistic approach is preferred. Suitable for developers looking for a modern API framework with easy integration of type hints and async support.

### ☁️ Storage - Django Storage
When it comes to deploying to production and using cloud storage such as Aws S3 bucket / Google cloud storage, you would want to use a helper such as [django storages](https://github.com/jschneier/django-storages?tab=readme-ov-file)

### 🔄 Background tasks / schedule tasks - Celery
Background tasks, like sending emails, are best handled asynchronously to avoid blocking the main application processes and to improve the overall performance and responsiveness of your application. A popular tool for managing background tasks in Django is [Celery](https://github.com/celery/django-celery/). 

For scheduled tasks, you can use [Django celery beat](https://github.com/celery/django-celery-beat) to manage periodic tasks, ensuring they run at specified intervals.

### 🔔 Websockets - Django Channels
If you are developing live in app notification, live chat etc, you should consider using [websockets](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSockets_API). In Django, [Django Channels](https://github.com/django/channels) is used for implementing WebSockets, allowing you to handle real-time communications within your application.


That's all, hope you found this quick blog helpful, if you know of any other essential library, comment down below!