Deploy Django with SSL and Nginx on Google Cloud Platform Using Ubuntu VM

Getting Django to production means putting a proper web server and TLS in front of it. This guide walks through a Gunicorn + Nginx + Let's Encrypt setup on a GCP Ubuntu VM.

The stack

• Gunicorn runs the Django WSGI app.
• Nginx terminates TLS and serves static files / proxies to Gunicorn.
• Certbot (Let's Encrypt) issues and renews the SSL certificate.

The flow

1. Provision an Ubuntu VM and open ports 80/443 in the firewall.
2. Install dependencies and run Django under Gunicorn (via systemd).
3. Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy to the Gunicorn socket.
4. Run Certbot to enable HTTPS and auto-renewal.

Takeaway

Separate concerns: Gunicorn serves the app, Nginx handles TLS and static assets, and Certbot keeps certificates fresh — a pattern that scales well beyond one VM.