4-- MySQL Database
MySQL stores all persistent information: user accounts, profiles, purchase histories, and any data your apps need. Django interacts with it automatically through models (Python classes that map to database tables). You don-t need to write SQL manually for common operations - the ORM handles it. To keep things secure, MySQL runs on your private network or localhost, behind a firewall. Only Django can access it directly, not the public internet.
5-- NGINX Reverse Proxy
NGINX sits in front of Django to serve static files quickly and to protect the backend. When someone visits https://yourstore.com, NGINX receives the HTTP request. If it-s for a static file (images, CSS, JS), NGINX serves it directly. If it-s for dynamic content (/api/...), NGINX forwards it to Django-s WSGI or ASGI process (like Gunicorn or Uvicorn). NGINX also terminates HTTPS, manages SSL certificates, rate limits malicious traffic, and acts as a first-layer firewall to block suspicious requests.
6-- PayPal Payment Integration
Instead of storing credit card information yourself, you integrate PayPal Checkout. Your Django backend has endpoints to create and capture PayPal orders. When a user pays, your frontend uses PayPal-s JavaScript SDK to open a secure PayPal window. After the user approves the payment, PayPal notifies your Django API through a callback or webhook. Django then verifies the payment status using PayPal-s Orders API and updates MySQL with the result (for example, marking the app as -purchased-). This keeps you fully PCI-compliant.
7-- Firewall and Security
Your firewall (either software like ufw or a cloud security group) ensures that only ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) are exposed publicly. MySQL listens only on localhost or a private IP, invisible from the outside world. You can further harden Django by disabling debug mode, using strong secret keys, and serving everything over HTTPS. Regular updates and database backups round out your protection.