Step-by-step guide to host your Django backend API on a Vps Server (Contabo)

[Lomanu4]

Here's a step-by-step guide to host your Django backend API on a subdomain (api-subdomain.mydomain.co.ke) using Nginx, Gunicorn, and Contabo as your server.

1. Point the Subdomain to Your Contabo Server (DNS Settings)

On your domain registrar (where you bought mydomain.co.ke):

• Go to the DNS settings or Manage DNS section.
• 
  Create an A Record for api-subdomain:
  
  • Type: A
  • Name: api-subdomain
  • Value: Your Contabo public IP
  • TTL: Default or 300 seconds

? It may take up to 10–30 minutes for DNS to propagate.

To confirm that the subdomain has propagated by ping. i.e. ping api-subdomain.domain.com

2. Install Required Packages on Contabo (Ubuntu)


sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv nginx git
pip install gunicorn
3. Clone Your Django App to the Server


cd /var/www/
sudo git clone

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subdomain_be
cd subdomain_be
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Run Django migrations:


python manage.py migrate

Collect static files:


python manage.py collectstatic
4. Test Gunicorn


Run Gunicorn to make sure your app runs:


gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:8000 django_project_backend.wsgi:application

Replace django_project_backend with your Django project name (same folder with settings.py).

5. Set Up a Systemd Service for Gunicorn


Create the file:


sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/subdomain_be.service

Paste this:


[Unit]
Description=Gunicorn daemon for api-subdomain
After=network.target

[Service]
User=www-data
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/subdomain_be
ExecStart=/var/www/subdomain_be/venv/bin/gunicorn --access-logfile - --workers 3 --bind unix:/var/www/subdomain_be/subdomain_be.sock django_project_backend.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Start and enable it:


sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start subdomain_be
sudo systemctl enable subdomain_be

Check status:


sudo systemctl status subdomain_be
6. Configure Nginx for the Subdomain


sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/api-subdomain

Paste:


server {
listen 80;
server_name api-subdomain.mydomain.co.ke;

location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
location /static/ {
root /var/www/subdomain_be;
}

location / {
include proxy_params;
proxy_pass http://unix:/var/www/subdomain_be/subdomain_be.sock;
}
}

Enable the config:


sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/api-subdomain /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
7. (Optional but Recommended) Set Up HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt


Install Certbot:


sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Run it:


sudo certbot --nginx -d api-subdomain.mydomain.co.ke

Let Certbot update your Nginx config automatically.

8. Verify


Visit:

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or

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(if SSL is enabled)

Your Django API should now be live.

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