How to Update the Django Version: A Step-By-Step Guide to Hassle-Free Upgrades

Would you want to spend 60%- 80% of your budget to support outdated technologies in your project? Not for innovation or growth but just to keep the monstrous, outdated stuff running. 

That’s what happens when a business avoids major framework updates for too long. 

Technology evolves at lightning speed, and ignoring its changes can create a mountain of technical debt. What was once manageable improvements becomes overwhelming burdens on your team and resources.

So, what is the healthiest way to manage ever-evolving frameworks? How do you stay ahead without sacrificing stability or resources? And how can you do it right with Django?

This article is your step-by-step guide on how to update Django version smoothly. It’s not just a call to migrate thoughtlessly—but rather, an instruction to make informed, balanced decisions.

What do we mean by ‘Django update’?
Like any other framework, Django gets outdated over time. New versions are being released, bringing new features, breaking changes, security patches, and other improvements.

So, when we say ‘Django update,’ we usually mean upgrading to a newer version for better functionality and compatibility with the latest standards.

This, in turn, often involves quite a bit of work: updating dependencies, addressing breaking changes, refactoring the code, and running tests to ensure the app works correctly after the update.
Challenges in Django upgrades
When tech teams request to update the Django version, it’s often being delayed, and there are reasons for this:

A version update is a complex process that takes time and effort, especially for projects with technical debt or complex dependencies.

There are version migration risks involved. Updating the framework version can disrupt workflows, cause issues, and trigger deprecation warnings due to breaking changes in Django’s APIs, version-specific Django features that behave differently or are deprecated in newer versions, or conflicts with third-party libraries.

An app may have technical debt, such as outdated libraries, deprecated APIs, or unsupported features. This makes the Django version update even more complicated.

The version upgrade process requires specific technical expertise, which can be an additional constraint.

So yes, a Django version update can be difficult, and there’s always the temptation to delay it. But you create even bigger long-term problems with technical debt, high maintenance costs, and poor scalability.

The good news? You can turn version updates into a smooth process instead of a recurring disruption, and we’ll show you how.

Why is upgrading Django projects so important? 

Version migration is a choice between being competitive or being left behind in the industry. It affects everything: efficiency, performance, scalability, and the ability to roll out new, contemporary features. But let’s break this down to understand the benefits of updating Django from every angle.

Business side

Technical side

Operations side

Team side

Here's how feature-reach, interactive apps are being created.

Read the MOSAIC Case Study 👈

Signs that it’s time to upgrade the Django version of your app

Here’s a quick checklist for you. Just go through and check every “yes” you can relate to.

If you checked at least three of these, your Django version is probably out of date. This means security risks, integration issues, and other problems mentioned earlier.

Should you migrate with every new major update?
Not necessarily. The answer depends on your project specifics, for example:

If your project handles sensitive data or has strict compliance requirements, you should always update from an earlier version on time to keep your application secure.

If your project is working fine on the current version, this version is still supported, the project doesn’t need the latest Django features, and it’s strictly regulated—you don’t necessarily need to migrate every time.

If your project is built on an LTS version of Django, you can delay version migrations until its end-of-life date. You have a set schedule for updates, so you can plan ahead.

In short, the decision to migrate should match your project’s complexity, strategy, and risk tolerance. However, skipping multiple Django updates in a row can make future migrations harder. So, it’s all about balancing priorities.

How to upgrade the Django version safely
With vast experience in Python development and Django since 2008, we have maintained dozens of projects of all sizes and setups. If it’s time to upgrade your project to a newer version, here are our tried-and-tested Django update best practices to help you do it smoothly:

1. Audit your project

The first step is to understand your current setup. Here, check your project code for the following:

• Dependencies. Make sure your libraries and tools are compatible with the new Django version, and update your virtual environment to reflect these changes.
• Custom code and legacy features. Search for old or highly specific parts of your codebase that require refactoring.

This will help you find potential issues early so they don’t become roadblocks later.

2. Backup and test

No migration plan is complete without a backup and testing strategy. Here, you should:

• Create full backups of your codebase, virtual environment, and database version so you don’t lose data if something goes wrong.
• Write test cases to ensure your app works before and after Django migration.

This step will help you avoid many common challenges in Django upgrades.

3. Plan phases

Breaking the version migration into smaller phases will reduce risks even more and make the process more manageable:

• Follow Django’s official version upgrade guide. It’s always better to migrate version by version instead of jumping directly to the latest one. This will minimize the chance of hitting breaking changes.
• Divide the process into small, actionable steps so you can fix issues incrementally instead of cleaning up all at once.
• Make sure each phase is tested in an isolated environment (e.g., a virtual environment) to prevent conflicts with your current setup and to make the testing process smoother.

In this way, you’ll avoid an “avalanche” of multiple failures and minimize disruptions.

4. Upgrade dependencies

Your project’s third-party libraries are as important as Django itself. So, here:

• Update your libraries along with Django so they are compatible with the new version you’re moving to. 
• Resolve conflicts. If some libraries are too old to run with this new version of Django and don’t have proper updates, find alternatives. Adjust your code where necessary.

Dependencies can be tricky, so addressing them early will make the process easier.

5. Leverage tools and collaboration

Finally, don’t forget the power of tools and teamwork:

• Automation tools. Use CI/CD pipelines to test, deploy, and catch issues early.
• Collaborate with DevOps to align your Django upgrade roadmap with deployment strategy and ensure feature releases are smoothly integrated into the pipeline.
• Community. Reach out to the Django community (forums, GitHub, etc.) to find answers if something goes wrong during a major upgrade.

Collaboration and automation will reduce manual work and be your safety net during the upgrade.

A large retail company faced a problem: their e-commerce app, which had been running well for years, suddenly started to slow down. 

Customers were complaining and abandoning their carts. Considering that the holiday shopping season was just around the corner, this was pretty much a disaster waiting to happen.

John, the company’s project manager, didn’t have deep technical expertise, but he knew enough to suspect where the root of the problem was. He consulted with his technical team, and they confirmed his suspicion: the problem was in the old Django version. 

Feeling the pressure, John contacted us. Above all, his biggest worry was how to update Django to the latest version without disrupting sales. He needed a solution, fast. 

We understood the urgency, so we dug into the app, found the bottlenecks, mapped out the necessary changes, and got to work.

The results were immediate. The upgraded app was not only faster but also more secure and scalable. Sales during the peak season went through the roof.

Note: This story is shared under an NDA, and all names and identifying details have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

A healthy setup for future version updates 

Migration isn’t just about responding to required Django updates. It’s about having a strategic project setup that makes all your migrations smooth and predictable, while also preparing for future upgrades.

So, we highly recommend you take a proactive approach in migration planning for Django and get a few benefits at a time:

• reduce risks,
• keep your systems scalable,
• make each version migration feel like a natural part of the project’s evolution, not a pain.

And here’s how.

Regular Dependency Updates

Your dependencies—libraries, frameworks, tools—are the foundation of your project. Keeping them up to date will prevent a chain of compatibility issues during migrations. For that:

• Set up a recurring schedule to find and apply updates.
• Make sure your libraries are compatible with Django versions so you won’t be surprised at the last minute.
• Pay attention to deprecation warnings in your project logs to prevent future compatibility issues.

Consistent maintenance will save you a lot of time and effort when big updates come.

Version Awareness

Understanding Django’s release cycle is one of the keys to proactive migration planning. For that:

• Keep track of the end-of-life dates for your current Django version.
• Plan major updates in advance, especially for Django LTS versions.

Knowledge of upcoming feature releases and having a clear Django update roadmap will help you plan your updates instead of scrambling when support for your current version ends. 

Backward Compatibility

Backward-compatible code helps your project adapt to updates more easily. To make this possible, make sure to:

• Write clean, modular code that doesn’t rely on version-specific Django features or quick fixes. 
• Refactor your codebase regularly to make sure you’re following best practices and current standards.

Backward compatibility reduces the risk of big rewrites during updates, so your team can focus on new features rather than old code.

Automated Tests

Automated testing is your safety net for any version migration. It keeps key functions intact and reduces the risk of critical errors. For that:

• Create test cases that cover all critical app functionality.
• Use these tests to check your project’s behavior before and after the version update.

Automated testing saves time by finding problems early. This will prevent long debugging sessions later in the process.

Flexible Architecture

Your project’s architecture will impact how well it can adapt to changes. A flexible, modular design will make version migrations easier and help reduce risks. For that:

• Separate business logic from Django-specific features so the system becomes more adaptable.
• Isolate dependencies so updates won’t affect other parts of your project.

A flexible software architecture reduces downtime and risks while also ensuring your system can grow along with your business needs and evolving technology.

Dedicated Django Migration Strategy

A version migration strategy is a business process that helps you update the Django version with precision and minimal disruption. A good strategy leads to a smooth, well-controlled process. For that:

• Always use a staging environment to test updates before applying them to production.
• Document the steps, results, and challenges to make future migrations easier.

A good version migration strategy helps turn a chaotic process into a predictable workflow.

Proactive Team Communication

Version updates are not just a technical task—they’re a team effort that requires everyone to be on the same page. Communication and shared ownership is the key to success.

For that:

• Create a culture where improvements and updates are welcome and planned.
• Train your developers on how to upgrade the Django version.

When everyone is on the same page, version updates become a natural part of the development process, not an emergency response.

Wrapping It Up 

Django is a great framework for different kinds of web development projects. But when it’s up to date with the latest major version, you can enjoy such benefits of Django as security, high performance, its latest features, and compatibility with third-party tools.

Postponing migrations, on the other hand, leads to technical debt, security holes, operational inefficiencies, and user frustration. Eventually, an out-of-date project starts losing profit.

How to update the Django version? Migration won’t be a pain if you follow a well-thought-out Django update roadmap. We have years of experience in Python and Django development. So, we know it’s not just about upgrading your code but also about planning the process, managing dependencies, testing thoroughly, and staying compatible every step of the way.