Python/Django hosting on "normal" hosting plans

[Steve Holden]

Tim Chase wrote:
[In response t David Lyon]
>> My questions are:
>>
>>   - can most everyday vanilla linux web hosts run a django site ?
>>
>>   - can most everyday vanilla linux web hosts run python web scripts?
> 
> Depends on your definition of "most everyday vanilla linux web hosts".  :)
> 
> The bottom-of-the-barrel hosts will often (but not always) offer Python
> CGI.  Django "can" run in a CGI (google for "django cgi"[0]), but it's
> an unpleasant experience because the entire Django framework gets
> reloaded for *every* request. Doable/tolerable for a private
> development/family page, but it will likely flounder under the slightest
> load.
> 
> This is like strapping a jet engine (Django) on a bicycle (CGI).  [1] 
> Doable, but more for the macho-factor of "I got it working" rather than
> the practical aspects.
> 
> Your lowest-end hosting services won't offer mod_python or WSGI (either
> Apache with mod_wsgi, or others like lighttpd with a wsgi interface)
> though WSGI is becoming more popular.  There are still some
> shared-hosting solutions that facilitate using Django[2] pretty well. 
> They're not super-cheap, but they're affordable. The canonical catalog
> of Django-friendly & Django-capable hosting services can be found at
> [3].  If you're just starting out with Django, it might help to pay a
> bit more for one of the click-n-go hosts, while others you'll have to do
> some of the heavy lifting (installing Django, as well as possibly other
> components, assembling your wsgi startup script, etc) yourself.
> 
There's recently been a discussion about hosting on the django-users
list, which I recommend you think about joining. Both WebFaction and
SliceHost got high marks from many users. I personally use OpenHosting,
who are very Python-friendly and mostly just let you ge on with what you
want to do, which is great if you are comfortable managing your own
email and web services.

regards
 Steve
-- 
Steve Holden        +1 571 484 6266   +1 800 494 3119
Holden Web LLC              http://www.holdenweb.com/