How to Create a Website from Scratch using Python: Web designing is an exciting field with a lot of opportunities for creativity and innovation. It can be daunting, however, for beginners to figure out where to start. In this article, we will take a step-by-step approach to how to create a website from scratch using Python. Python is a versatile language that can be used for a wide range of web development tasks, including server-side scripting, content management systems, and data analysis.
We will use the Flask micro-framework to create a simple web application. Flask is a lightweight framework that is easy to learn and use, making it ideal for beginners. We will also use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the front-end of the website.
Step 1: Setting up the environment
Before we can start creating our website, we need to set up our development environment. This includes installing Python and Flask on our computer.
- Install Python: Python can be downloaded from the official website at https://www.python.org/downloads/. Choose the appropriate version for your operating system and follow the installation instructions.
- Install Flask: Once Python is installed, we can install Flask using pip, the package manager for Python. Open a terminal or command prompt and type the following command:
pip install Flask
This will install Flask and all its dependencies.
Step 2: Creating the Flask application
Now that we have Flask installed, we can start creating our web application. We will start by creating a basic Flask application that displays a simple message on the homepage.
- Create a new file called app.py and open it in your text editor.
- Import the Flask module:
from flask import Flask |
Create a new instance of the Flask class:
app = Flask(__name__) |
Define a route for the homepage (“/”):
@app .route( "/" ) def home(): return "Hello, world!" |
Finally, add the following lines to the end of the file:
if __name__ = = "__main__" : app.run() |
This starts the Flask application and runs it on the default port (5000).
Save the file and run it using the following command:
python app.py
This will start the Flask development server and display the message “Hello, world!” when you visit http://localhost:5000 in your web browser.
Congratulations, you have created your first Flask application!
Also Read: How to Use SQL with Python
Step 3: Adding HTML templates
While the “Hello, world!” message is a good start, it’s not exactly a full-fledged website. To create a more dynamic website, we will need to use HTML templates.
- Create a new folder called templates in your project directory.
- Create a new file called home.html in the templates folder.
- Add the following HTML code to the home.html file:
<! DOCTYPE html> < html > < head > < title >My Website</ title > </ head > < body > < h1 >Hello, world!</ h1 > </ body > </ html > |
Modify the home function in app.py to render the home.html template:
@app .route( "/" ) def home(): return render_template( "home.html" ) |
Add the following line to the top of app.py to import the render_template function:
from flask import Flask, render_template |
- Save the file and refresh http://localhost:5000 in your web browser. You should now see the “Hello, world!” message displayed in the home.html template.
Step 4: Adding CSS styling
Now that we have a basic HTML template, we can start adding some CSS styling to make it look more visually appealing.
- Create a new folder called static in your project directory.
- Create a new file called style.css in the static folder.
- Add the following CSS code to the style.css file:
body { font-family : Arial , sans-serif ; background-color : #f2f2f2 ; } h 1 { color : #333 ; text-align : center ; margin-top : 50px ; } |
Link the style.css file to the home.html template by adding the following line to the head section:
< link rel = "stylesheet" type = "text/css" href = "{{ url_for('static', filename='style.css') }}" > |
- Save the files and refresh http://localhost:5000 in your web browser. You should now see the “Hello, world!” message displayed in a styled format.
Also Read: 50 Basic Python Coding Questions and Answers for Beginners
Step 5: Adding JavaScript interactivity
Finally, we can add some JavaScript code to make the website more interactive. In this example, we will add a button that changes the background color of the page.
- Add the following HTML code to the home.html template:
< button id = "btn" onclick = "changeColor()" >Change color</ button > |
Add the following JavaScript code to the bottom of the home.html template:
function changeColor() { var body = document.querySelector( "body" ); body.style.backgroundColor = "#ffcc00" ; } |
Save the files and refresh http://localhost:5000 in your web browser. You should now see a button that changes the background color of the page when clicked.
Full code for how to Create a Website using Python:
app.py (Python code)
from flask import Flask, render_template app = Flask(__name__) @app .route( '/' ) def home(): return render_template( 'home.html' ) if __name__ = = '__main__' : app.run(debug = True ) |
templates/home.html
<! DOCTYPE html> < html > < head > < title >My Website</ title > < link rel = "stylesheet" type = "text/css" href = "{{ url_for('static', filename='style.css') }}" > </ head > < body > < h1 >Hello, world!</ h1 > < button id = "btn" onclick = "changeColor()" >Change color</ button > < script type = "text/javascript" > function changeColor() { var body = document.querySelector("body"); body.style.backgroundColor = "#ffcc00"; } </ script > </ body > </ html > |
static/style.css
body { font-family : Arial , sans-serif ; background-color : #f2f2f2 ; } h 1 { color : #333 ; text-align : center ; margin-top : 50px ; } |
Conclusion:
In this article, we have covered the basics of how to Create a Website from scratch using Python, Flask, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We started by setting up our development environment and creating a basic Flask application. We then added HTML templates, CSS styling, and JavaScript interactivity to create a more dynamic website. While this tutorial only scratches the surface of web development, it provides a good foundation for further learning and experimentation.
FAQs on How to Create a Website from Scratch using Python
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Flask is a micro-framework for web development in Python. It is lightweight and easy to learn, making it ideal for beginners.
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the standard markup language for creating web pages. It defines the structure and content of a web page.
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of a web page. It defines the layout, colors, fonts, and other visual aspects of a web page.
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JavaScript is a programming language used to add interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages. It can be used for client-side scripting, such as validating form data or creating animations.
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A static file is a file that is served directly to the client without any server-side processing. Examples include CSS, JavaScript, and image files.