Best examples of Django template rendering examples in real projects

If you build anything serious with Django, you’ll hit templates fast. And the best way to learn is by walking through real examples of Django template rendering examples you’d actually use in production. Not toy snippets, but patterns that hold up when your app stops being a weekend project and starts getting real traffic. This guide walks through practical, opinionated examples of Django template rendering examples: from basic context rendering to class-based views, template inheritance, partials, and even async-friendly patterns for Django 5.x. Along the way, we’ll connect each example to real-world use cases like dashboards, forms, and API-backed pages. The goal is simple: you should be able to copy-paste these snippets into a modern Django project and understand exactly why they work. We’ll assume you already know how to start a Django project. Here, we’re focused on how to render templates cleanly, avoid repetition, and keep your views readable as your codebase grows.
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Quick, real examples of Django template rendering examples

Let’s start with concrete code, because theory without real examples is boring.

Here’s the simplest example of Django template rendering using a function-based view:

## views.py
from django.shortcuts import render

def home(request):
    context = {"title": "Home", "user_count": 128}
    return render(request, "home.html", context)
``

```html
{# templates/home.html #}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>{{ title }}</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>{{ title }}</h1>
    <p>Registered users: {{ user_count }}</p>
  </body>
</html>

Most real examples of Django template rendering examples build on this pattern: a view builds a context dictionary and render() glues it to a template. From here, everything is about how you structure views, reuse templates, and avoid shipping a giant ball of HTML spaghetti.

Context dictionaries: the core pattern behind most examples

Almost all examples of Django template rendering examples start with a context dictionary. Django passes this mapping of keys to values into your template so you can output data and control logic.

## views.py
from django.shortcuts import render
from .models import Product


def product_list(request):
    products = Product.objects.filter(is_active=True)
    context = {
        "title": "Products",
        "products": products,
        "show_filters": True,
    }
    return render(request, "shop/product_list.html", context)

{# templates/shop/product_list.html #}
<h1>{{ title }}</h1>

{% if show_filters %}
  <form method="get">
    <!-- filter controls here -->
  </form>
{% endif %}

<ul>
  {% for product in products %}
    <li>
      {{ product.name }} - ${{ product.price }}
    </li>
  {% empty %}
    <li>No products available right now.</li>
  {% endfor %}
</ul>

In production apps, examples include dashboard pages, admin-like overviews, or any list view. The pattern stays the same: query, build context, render template.

Class-based view examples of Django template rendering examples

Once your project grows, function-based views start to feel repetitive. You write the same boilerplate over and over. This is where class-based views (CBVs) shine.

Here’s a realistic example of Django template rendering using a ListView with pagination, something you’d see in a blog or news site:

## views.py
from django.views.generic import ListView
from .models import Article


class ArticleListView(ListView):
    model = Article
    template_name = "blog/article_list.html"
    context_object_name = "articles"
    paginate_by = 20

    def get_context_data(self, **kwargs):
        context = super().get_context_data(**kwargs)
        context["title"] = "Latest Articles"
        context["show_subscribe_banner"] = True
        return context

{# templates/blog/article_list.html #}
<h1>{{ title }}</h1>

{% if show_subscribe_banner %}
  <section class="subscribe-banner">
    <p>Get updates when new articles go live.</p>
  </section>
{% endif %}

{% for article in articles %}
  <article>
    <h2>{{ article.title }}</h2>
    <p>{{ article.summary }}</p>
  </article>
{% empty %}
  <p>No articles yet. Check back soon.</p>
{% endfor %}

<div class="pagination">
  {% if page_obj.has_previous %}
    <a href="?page={{ page_obj.previous_page_number }}">Previous</a>
  {% endif %}

  <span>Page {{ page_obj.number }} of {{ page_obj.paginator.num_pages }}</span>

  {% if page_obj.has_next %}
    <a href="?page={{ page_obj.next_page_number }}">Next</a>
  {% endif %}
</div>

This is one of the best examples of Django template rendering examples for teams that care about maintainability: the view stays lean, pagination is automatic, and the template does just enough display work.

Template inheritance: the best examples for DRY layouts

If you aren’t using template inheritance, you’ll end up repeating <head>, navigation, and footer code in every file. Real projects don’t do that.

Here’s a base layout and then an example of a child template that extends it.

{# templates/base.html #}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>{% block title %}My Site{% endblock %}</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <header>
      <h1>My Site</h1>
      <nav>
        <a href="/">Home</a>
        <a href="/blog/">Blog</a>
      </nav>
    </header>

    <main>
      {% block content %}{% endblock %}
    </main>

    <footer>
      &copy; {{ current_year }}
    </footer>
  </body>
</html>

{# templates/blog/article_detail.html #}
{% extends "base.html" %}

{% block title %}{{ article.title }} | My Site{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
  <article>
    <h2>{{ article.title }}</h2>
    <p>Published {{ article.published_at }}</p>
    <div>{{ article.body|safe }}</div>
  </article>
{% endblock %}

Many of the best examples of Django template rendering examples in large apps rely on this pattern: every page extends a shared base, sometimes with nested base templates for sections like dashboard_base.html or account_base.html.

Partials and template inclusion: reusing components

When you start repeating the same block of HTML across templates, you want partials. Django calls this include.

Here’s an example of a reusable notification component:

{# templates/components/alert.html #}
<div class="alert alert-{{ level }}">
  {{ message }}
</div>

You can now use it in multiple pages:

{% include "components/alert.html" with level="success" message="Profile updated." %}

Or render from context:

## views.py
from django.shortcuts import render


def profile(request):
    context = {
        "alert": {
            "level": "info",
            "message": "New security settings are available.",
        }
    }
    return render(request, "account/profile.html", context)

{# templates/account/profile.html #}
{% if alert %}
  {% include "components/alert.html" with level=alert.level message=alert.message %}
{% endif %}

These smaller, focused snippets are real examples of Django template rendering examples that keep front-end code organized without needing a full component framework.

Form rendering examples of Django template rendering examples

Forms are where template rendering often gets messy. Django gives you several ways to render forms; the best examples balance control and readability.

Simple example using {{ form.as_p }}:

## views.py
from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from .forms import ContactForm


def contact(request):
    if request.method == "POST":
        form = ContactForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            form.save()
            return redirect("contact_thanks")
    else:
        form = ContactForm()

    return render(request, "contact/contact.html", {"form": form})

{# templates/contact/contact.html #}
<h1>Contact us</h1>

<form method="post">
  {% csrf_token %}
  {{ form.as_p }}
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

More realistic apps often render each field manually for styling and error control:

{# templates/contact/contact.html #}
<h1>Contact us</h1>

<form method="post">
  {% csrf_token %}

  <div class="field">
    <label for="id_name">Name</label>
    {{ form.name }}
    {% if form.name.errors %}
      <div class="error">{{ form.name.errors.0 }}</div>
    {% endif %}
  </div>

  <div class="field">
    <label for="id_email">Email</label>
    {{ form.email }}
    {% if form.email.errors %}
      <div class="error">{{ form.email.errors.0 }}</div>
    {% endif %}
  </div>

  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

These are the kinds of real examples of Django template rendering examples you’ll see in production dashboards, signup flows, and admin replacements.

Rendering JSON-backed pages and API data

Modern Django apps often consume external APIs. Maybe you’re pulling health data, financial data, or weather data and showing it in a template.

Imagine a view that displays CDC COVID-19 data fetched by a background task. You might have a model that stores processed stats, and your template rendering stays familiar:

## views.py
from django.shortcuts import render
from .models import CovidSummary


def covid_dashboard(request):
    summary = CovidSummary.objects.latest("date")
    context = {
        "title": "COVID-19 Dashboard",
        "summary": summary,
    }
    return render(request, "health/covid_dashboard.html", context)

{# templates/health/covid_dashboard.html #}
<h1>{{ title }}</h1>
<p>Date: {{ summary.date }}</p>
<p>New cases: {{ summary.new_cases }}</p>
<p>Hospitalizations: {{ summary.hospitalizations }}</p>

Here, the heavy lifting happens outside the template. The template rendering stays clean, even though the data might originate from an API like the CDC’s public data resources at https://data.cdc.gov.

These patterns are some of the best examples of Django template rendering examples for 2024–2025, where server-side HTML still matters even alongside SPAs and front-end frameworks.

Async-friendly patterns for Django 5.x and beyond

Django’s async support means your views can be asynchronous, but template rendering is still synchronous under the hood. You still call render() the same way; Django handles the bridge.

Here’s an async view that renders a template while doing async I/O (for example, calling a third-party API):

## views.py
from django.shortcuts import render
from django.http import HttpRequest, HttpResponse
import httpx


async def weather(request: HttpRequest) -> HttpResponse:
    async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
        response = await client.get("https://api.weather.gov/gridpoints/MPX/107,71/forecast")
    data = response.json()
    period = data["properties"]["periods"][0]

    context = {
        "title": "Local Weather",
        "temperature": period["temperature"],
        "short_forecast": period["shortForecast"],
    }

    return render(request, "weather/current.html", context)

{# templates/weather/current.html #}
<h1>{{ title }}</h1>
<p>Temperature: {{ temperature }} °F</p>
<p>Forecast: {{ short_forecast }}</p>

Even with async views, the examples of Django template rendering examples stay familiar, which is one reason Django continues to be popular for server-rendered apps.

Security-conscious examples of Django template rendering examples

If you’re returning HTML from user input, you should care about security. Django templates are auto-escaping by default, which is one of the best examples of secure-by-default design in a mainstream web framework.

Consider a user profile bio that allows limited formatting. You might sanitize HTML on save using a library, then mark it safe in the template:

## models.py
from django.db import models
from django.utils.html import strip_tags


class Profile(models.Model):
    user = models.OneToOneField("auth.User", on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    bio_html = models.TextField(blank=True)

    def clean(self):
#        # Example: strip script tags or sanitize with bleach
        self.bio_html = strip_tags(self.bio_html)

{# templates/account/profile_detail.html #}
<h1>{{ profile.user.username }}</h1>
<div class="bio">{{ profile.bio_html|safe }}</div>

You still get the same rendering behavior, but with a bit of hygiene before the data hits the template. If you work with health or medical content, where misinformation and user-generated content can be sensitive, this pattern pairs well with vetted sources like Mayo Clinic or MedlinePlus for factual references.

These are subtle but important real examples of Django template rendering examples that keep your pages safe without making your templates unreadable.

Rendering errors and 404 pages with templates

Custom error pages are another practical example of Django template rendering that users actually see.

In settings.py:

DEBUG = False
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ["*"]  # configure properly in real deployments

In your root urls.py:

from django.conf.urls import handler404, handler500
from . import views

handler404 = "core.views.custom_404"
handler500 = "core.views.custom_500"

In core/views.py:

from django.shortcuts import render


def custom_404(request, exception):
    response = render(request, "errors/404.html", {"title": "Page not found"})
    response.status_code = 404
    return response


def custom_500(request):
    response = render(request, "errors/500.html", {"title": "Server error"})
    response.status_code = 500
    return response

{# templates/errors/404.html #}
<h1>{{ title }}</h1>
<p>The page you were looking for does not exist.</p>
<a href="/">Go back home</a>

These are underrated but very real examples of Django template rendering examples that shape user experience, especially when something goes wrong.

FAQ: common questions about examples of Django template rendering

Q: Can you give more examples of Django template rendering examples using context processors?
Yes. Context processors inject variables into every template without passing them explicitly. For instance, you might add a settings_context_processor that exposes SITE_NAME and SUPPORT_EMAIL globally. Then every template can render them directly with {{ SITE_NAME }}. This is useful for site-wide banners, legal notices, or health disclaimers referencing sources like Harvard Health.

Q: What is a good example of sharing data between base and child templates?
A common pattern is to pass page_title and breadcrumbs in the view, use them in base.html for the <title> and navigation, and then let each child template override the visual content. This keeps layout logic in one place while still letting individual pages customize metadata.

Q: Are there examples of using Django template rendering with HTMX or partial page updates?
Yes. You can render a small fragment template like partials/comment_list.html and return it from a view that responds only to AJAX or HTMX requests. The client swaps that HTML into the page. It’s still the same template rendering engine, just returning smaller chunks instead of full pages.

Q: What’s the best way to organize templates in a large project?
Real-world examples include using app-scoped directories like blog/article_list.html, account/profile_detail.html, and a shared components/ folder for partials. Combine that with a base.html and sometimes section-specific bases like base_dashboard.html to keep templates discoverable.

Q: Can Django templates render data from external health or education APIs safely?
Yes, as long as you treat external data like any other untrusted input. Django’s auto-escaping protects against many HTML injection issues. For sensitive domains like medical information, pair that with validation and clear attribution to authoritative sources such as NIH or WebMD in your templates.

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