🚀 Deployment Guide for Rise Together

This guide will help you deploy Rise Together to production at risetogether.tech.

📋 Table of Contents

Pre-Deployment Checklist
Environment Setup
Deployment Options
Domain Configuration
Post-Deployment
Troubleshooting

✅ Pre-Deployment Checklist

Before deploying, ensure you have:

🔧 Environment Setup

Update settings.py for Production

Create a production settings file or modify config/settings.py:

import os
from pathlib import Path

# SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
DEBUG = os.getenv('DEBUG', 'False') == 'True'

ALLOWED_HOSTS = [
    'risetogether.tech',
    'www.risetogether.tech',
    'localhost',
    '127.0.0.1',
]

# Database
if os.getenv('DATABASE_URL'):
    import dj_database_url
    DATABASES = {
        'default': dj_database_url.config(
            default=os.getenv('DATABASE_URL'),
            conn_max_age=600,
            ssl_require=True
        )
    }

# Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images)
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'staticfiles')
STATIC_URL = '/static/'

# WhiteNoise for static files
MIDDLEWARE.insert(1, 'whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware')
STATICFILES_STORAGE = 'whitenoise.storage.CompressedManifestStaticFilesStorage'

# Media files
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'media')

# Security settings
SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT = not DEBUG
SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = not DEBUG
CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = not DEBUG
SECURE_BROWSER_XSS_FILTER = True
SECURE_CONTENT_TYPE_NOSNIFF = True
X_FRAME_OPTIONS = 'DENY'

# Email configuration
EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend'
EMAIL_HOST = os.getenv('EMAIL_HOST', 'smtp.gmail.com')
EMAIL_PORT = int(os.getenv('EMAIL_PORT', 587))
EMAIL_USE_TLS = True
EMAIL_HOST_USER = os.getenv('EMAIL_HOST_USER')
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = os.getenv('EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD')
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL = os.getenv('DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL', 'noreply@risetogether.tech')

🌐 Deployment Options

Option 1: Deploy to Heroku

1. Install Heroku CLI

# Download from https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-cli
# Or use package manager:
# macOS
brew tap heroku/brew && brew install heroku

# Windows (using Chocolatey)
choco install heroku-cli

2. Create Procfile

echo "web: gunicorn config.wsgi --log-file -" > Procfile

3. Update requirements.txt

pip install gunicorn dj-database-url psycopg2-binary whitenoise
pip freeze > requirements.txt

4. Create runtime.txt

echo "python-3.11.0" > runtime.txt

5. Login and Create App

heroku login
heroku create risetogether

6. Set Environment Variables

heroku config:set SECRET_KEY="your-secret-key"
heroku config:set DEBUG=False
heroku config:set ALLOWED_HOSTS="risetogether.herokuapp.com,risetogether.tech"
heroku config:set EMAIL_HOST_USER="your-email@gmail.com"
heroku config:set EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD="your-app-password"

7. Deploy

git push heroku main
heroku run python manage.py migrate
heroku run python manage.py createsuperuser
heroku run python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

8. Add PostgreSQL Database

heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql:hobby-dev

Option 2: Deploy to DigitalOcean

1. Create a Droplet

Log in to DigitalOcean
Create Ubuntu 22.04 droplet
Choose appropriate size (starting at $6/month)

2. SSH into Server

ssh root@your_server_ip

3. Install Dependencies

# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install Python and dependencies
apt install python3-pip python3-dev libpq-dev postgresql postgresql-contrib nginx curl -y

# Install virtualenv
pip3 install virtualenv

4. Set Up PostgreSQL

sudo -u postgres psql
CREATE DATABASE risetogether;
CREATE USER risetogether_user WITH PASSWORD 'your_password';
ALTER ROLE risetogether_user SET client_encoding TO 'utf8';
ALTER ROLE risetogether_user SET default_transaction_isolation TO 'read committed';
ALTER ROLE risetogether_user SET timezone TO 'UTC';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE risetogether TO risetogether_user;
\q

5. Clone Repository

cd /var/www
git clone https://github.com/risetogethercommunity/rise-together-web.git
cd rise-together-web

6. Set Up Virtual Environment

virtualenv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install gunicorn

7. Configure Environment Variables

nano .env

Add:

SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
DEBUG=False
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://risetogether_user:your_password@localhost/risetogether
ALLOWED_HOSTS=risetogether.tech,www.risetogether.tech

8. Set Up Gunicorn

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

Add:

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn daemon for Rise Together
After=network.target

[Service]
User=root
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/rise-together-web
ExecStart=/var/www/rise-together-web/venv/bin/gunicorn --workers 3 --bind unix:/var/www/rise-together-web/gunicorn.sock config.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

9. Start Gunicorn

systemctl start gunicorn
systemctl enable gunicorn

10. Configure Nginx

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/risetogether

Add:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name risetogether.tech www.risetogether.tech;

    location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
    
    location /static/ {
        root /var/www/rise-together-web;
    }
    
    location /media/ {
        root /var/www/rise-together-web;
    }

    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://unix:/var/www/rise-together-web/gunicorn.sock;
    }
}

Enable site:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/risetogether /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
nginx -t
systemctl restart nginx

11. Set Up SSL with Let's Encrypt

apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
certbot --nginx -d risetogether.tech -d www.risetogether.tech

Option 3: Deploy to AWS

Using AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Install EB CLI

pip install awsebcli

Initialize EB

eb init -p python-3.11 risetogether

Create environment

eb create risetogether-env

Deploy

eb deploy

Set environment variables

eb setenv SECRET_KEY="your-secret-key" DEBUG=False

Option 4: Deploy to Vercel/Railway

Railway (Recommended for Django)

Sign up at Railway.app
Click "New Project" → "Deploy from GitHub repo"
Select your repository
Railway will auto-detect Django
Add environment variables in dashboard
Deploy automatically happens on push

Configuration

Add railway.json:

{
  "build": {
    "builder": "NIXPACKS"
  },
  "deploy": {
    "startCommand": "python manage.py migrate && python manage.py collectstatic --noinput && gunicorn config.wsgi",
    "restartPolicyType": "ON_FAILURE",
    "restartPolicyMaxRetries": 10
  }
}

🌍 Domain Configuration

Configure risetogether.tech

Add DNS Records (in your domain registrar):

Type: A
Name: @
Value: YOUR_SERVER_IP

Type: A
Name: www
Value: YOUR_SERVER_IP

Wait for DNS Propagation (can take up to 48 hours)
Verify:
```
ping risetogether.tech
```

✅ Post-Deployment

1. Run Migrations

python manage.py migrate

2. Create Superuser

python manage.py createsuperuser

3. Collect Static Files

python manage.py collectstatic

4. Test the Application

Visit https://risetogether.tech
Test all major features
Check admin panel
Verify email sending
Test forms

5. Set Up Monitoring

Configure error tracking (Sentry)
Set up uptime monitoring (UptimeRobot)
Enable server monitoring

6. Backups

Set up automated database backups
Configure media files backup
Document restore procedures

🔧 Troubleshooting

Static Files Not Loading

python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
# Check STATIC_ROOT in settings

Database Connection Error

Verify DATABASE_URL
Check PostgreSQL is running
Confirm credentials

500 Internal Server Error

Check DEBUG=True temporarily
Review error logs
Verify all migrations applied

Domain Not Resolving

Check DNS settings
Verify A records
Wait for propagation

📞 Support

Need help? Reach out:

Email: contact@risetogether.tech
GitHub Issues: Report Issue

Good luck with your deployment! 🚀

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🚀 Deployment Guide for Rise Together

📋 Table of Contents

✅ Pre-Deployment Checklist

🔧 Environment Setup

Update settings.py for Production

🌐 Deployment Options

Option 1: Deploy to Heroku

1. Install Heroku CLI

2. Create Procfile

3. Update requirements.txt

4. Create runtime.txt

5. Login and Create App

6. Set Environment Variables

7. Deploy

8. Add PostgreSQL Database

Option 2: Deploy to DigitalOcean

1. Create a Droplet

2. SSH into Server

3. Install Dependencies

4. Set Up PostgreSQL

5. Clone Repository

6. Set Up Virtual Environment

7. Configure Environment Variables

8. Set Up Gunicorn

9. Start Gunicorn

10. Configure Nginx

11. Set Up SSL with Let's Encrypt

Option 3: Deploy to AWS

Using AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Option 4: Deploy to Vercel/Railway

Railway (Recommended for Django)

Configuration

🌍 Domain Configuration

Configure risetogether.tech

✅ Post-Deployment

1. Run Migrations

2. Create Superuser

3. Collect Static Files

4. Test the Application

5. Set Up Monitoring

6. Backups

🔧 Troubleshooting

Static Files Not Loading

Database Connection Error

500 Internal Server Error

Domain Not Resolving

📞 Support