It's time to redesign djangoproject.com

If you've felt like djangoproject.com could use a refresh, you're not alone. The site has served the community well for a long time, it’s beloved by a lot of people but doesn’t reflect where Django is today or who we want to reach. We've been working on a redesign behind the scenes, and we want to share where we're headed and how you can get involved.

Why a redesign

The case has been building for a while. The excellent user research report from 20tab documented in detail what current site users struggle with, and the more recent community discussion on homepage redesigns on the forum focuses on the image issue.

In her recent talk Debunking Django Myths, Sarah Boyce, one of our Django Fellows who helps maintain the project, walked through the gap between how Django is perceived and what it actually offers in 2026. Our website is one of the places where the gap is widest, and we need to close it.

It’s harder than it looks on the surface, as it’s essential the site serves both as a showcase of the value of Django for newcomers; and as a central information space for our users; and as an online and in-person community hub; and a fundraising and sustainability tool for our Django Software Foundation.

How we're approaching this

We're planning the work in three phases.

Discovery and groundwork. This is where we’re at right now. Before anything gets designed, we need clarity on what the site should communicate: Django's value, who we're speaking to, and what success looks like. That means a marketing strategy (at least bigger-picture). Possibly additional user research focused on new users. Definitely site analytics so we know how different aspects of the site are working. And a redesign brief we can share with UX and visual design experts. We also need to be building up capacity in UX, Information Architecture (IA), and marketing, since those areas of expertise are essential for the success of the website but not well represented in our working groups.

Design. From there we'll move into IA, mockups, and low-fidelity prototypes. We expect this visual work will be component-driven, producing a small design system and pattern library that can support a section-by-section rollout rather than a big-bang launch. The homepage is the most visible surface and a natural focus, but it might be easier for our volunteers to first look at more specific sections (docs, donation flows, community) before tackling the more complex multi-purpose areas.

Build. For that, we want to work with our existing volunteer contributors as much as possible, so implementation will be incremental against mockups that reflect the long-term goal. This keeps the site working and evolving while we make progress on the design.

Who's doing the work

We hope to do most of this with existing volunteers. The Website working group, the Accessibility team, and the Social Media working group. Working with paid contractors for specific tasks if Django Software Foundation finances allow. A project this size really needs both: the continuity of volunteers who know Django and our community and Foundation, and focused professional time for the pieces that need it.

Where you come in

If you have relevant experience in any of the following, we'd genuinely love to hear from you:

• UX and interaction design
• User research
• Visual design
• Information Architecture, content strategy, or copywriting
• Marketing

Check out the Django forum thread we’re using for ongoing updates, come say hi in DMs, or chime in on the tracking issue for this work. Our Discord server is a good place to reach out too.
And separately - a good redesign will cost real money. We'd like some of this work to be handled by paid contractors where it makes sense, and that depends on what the Foundation can afford. If you're in a position to support the DSF financially, it directly helps us make that possible. Thanks for caring about this! Let's make djangoproject.com as good as the framework and community it represents.