The early web was static: a web server would host hard-coded HTML pages in a traditional file hierarchy; a client browser could then request a page and render it. This static setup is still possible, but limiting and quite uncommon.

A web framework simplifies and automates the generation of dynamic web content. The developer might want a uniform look with a header and navigational menu at the top of every page. Implementing this statically would require pasting the header/menu HTML at the top of each page's file. With a dynamic setup, however, the header/menu code sits in a single file for easy editing. Each page then has a single line indicating where to insert that code.

Django is a popular back-end web framework written in Python. It roughly adheres to the Model–view–controller (MVC) software architectural pattern. Django focuses on quick deployment of functionality, e.g., a web storefront or a calendar. Its user management system allows fine control through permissions (as in an OS like Linux). Model classes give the site content its structure, with object instances being stored in a database backend like MySQL. The Django development community is healthy and active, keeping the framework secure, stable, and simple.

As you might guess… this page was dynamically generated by an installation of Django!