Django Templates

Templates keep your HTML separate from your Python code. Django fills them with data before sending them to the browser.

Where Templates Live

Create this folder structure inside your app:

Example

text

courses/
    templates/
        courses/
            index.html

The second courses folder avoids name clashes with other apps.

Rendering a Template

Use render() in the view and pass data in a dictionary called the context:

Example

python

from django.shortcuts import render

def index(request):
    context = {
        "institute": "Workownix",
        "courses": ["Web Development", "Graphic Designing", "SEO"],
        "students": 240,
    }
    return render(request, "courses/index.html", context)

Example

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
  <h1>{{ institute }} Courses</h1>
  <p>{{ students }} students enrolled.</p>
  <ul>
    {% for course in courses %}
      <li>{{ course }}</li>
    {% endfor %}
  </ul>
</body>
</html>

Output

Workownix Courses
240 students enrolled.
- Web Development
- Graphic Designing
- SEO

Template Syntax

Syntax	Use
`{{ name }}`	Print a variable
`{{ student.name }}`	Print an attribute or dictionary key
`{% tag %}`	Logic: for, if, block, url, and more
`{# comment #}`	A comment

Filters

A filter changes a value before it is shown. Write it after a vertical bar. Suppose the context has name = "Ayesha Khan", bio = "I love designing logos and posters for shops", joined = a date, no city, and the three courses:

Example

html

<p>{{ name|upper }}</p>
<p>{{ bio|truncatewords:5 }}</p>
<p>{{ joined|date:"d M Y" }}</p>
<p>{{ city|default:"Karachi" }}</p>
<p>{{ courses|length }} courses</p>

Output

AYESHA KHAN
I love designing logos and …
15 Oct 2026
Karachi
3 courses

Common filters: upper, lower, title, length, default, date, truncatewords, floatformat.

if and for

Example

html

{% if students > 200 %}
  <p>Big batch this year!</p>
{% elif students > 0 %}
  <p>Admissions are open.</p>
{% else %}
  <p>No students yet.</p>
{% endif %}

{% for course in courses %}
  <p>{{ forloop.counter }}. {{ course }}</p>
{% empty %}
  <p>No courses found.</p>
{% endfor %}

Output

Big batch this year!
1. Web Development
2. Graphic Designing
3. SEO

{% empty %} shows when the list has no items. forloop.counter counts from 1.

Template Inheritance

Put the shared layout in a base template, and let each page fill in blocks.

courses/templates/courses/base.html:

Example

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>{% block title %}Workownix{% endblock %}</title>
</head>
<body>
  <header>Workownix Institute</header>
  {% block content %}{% endblock %}
  <footer>Orangi Town, Karachi</footer>
</body>
</html>

courses/templates/courses/index.html:

Example

html

{% extends "courses/base.html" %}

{% block title %}Courses{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
  <h1>Our Courses</h1>
{% endblock %}

Change the header once in base.html and every page that extends it updates.

Links with the url Tag

Build links from the URL names you gave in urls.py, not by typing paths:

Example

html

<a href="{% url 'course-list' %}">All courses</a>
<a href="{% url 'course-detail' 2 %}">Graphic Designing</a>

Auto-escaping

Django escapes HTML in variables automatically, so text like <script> from a user is shown as plain text, not run. This protects against XSS.

Exercise

Which syntax prints a variable in a Django template?

{% name %}{{ name }}<?= name ?>@name