Django has long relied on WSGI as the standard interface for deploying Python web applications, powering millions of traditional synchronous web services. But as modern applications increasingly demand real-time communication, WebSockets, long-lived connections, and async processing, ASGI has become the next evolution in Python web deployment.

This talk introduces the transition from WSGI to ASGI in Django, explaining why ASGI matters, how it enables asynchronous capabilities, and what changes developers need to understand when moving to an async-ready architecture. We will explore the roles of Daphne and Uvicorn as ASGI servers, comparing their strengths, deployment considerations, and how they integrate with Django Channels to power real-time applications such as notifications, chats, and live balance updates.

Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of the differences between WSGI and ASGI, when to use Daphne or Uvicorn, and how to deploy modern Django applications capable of handling both traditional HTTP requests and WebSocket connections efficiently.

For years, Django applications were served through WSGI, a reliable interface designed for synchronous request-response workflows. While effective for traditional web applications, WSGI falls short when handling modern requirements such as WebSockets, background streaming, and asynchronous workloads.

ASGI extends Django beyond these limitations by introducing support for asynchronous communication patterns while preserving compatibility with standard HTTP applications. This session will provide an introduction to WSGI, outline the motivations behind ASGI, and demonstrate how Django leverages ASGI to support real-time features through Django Channels.

We will also compare two popular ASGI servers—Daphne, the reference server for Django Channels, and Uvicorn, a high-performance ASGI server optimized for speed—highlighting practical deployment patterns, performance considerations, and use cases for each.

Whether you are maintaining legacy Django deployments or building real-time systems, this talk will provide practical guidance for adopting ASGI in production and understanding the infrastructure choices behind modern Django applications.

Target audience: Django developers transitioning from traditional deployments to real-time or asynchronous architectures
Level: Intermediate
Includes practical deployment comparisons between Daphne and Uvicorn
Demonstrates real-world Django use cases such as WebSockets, notifications, and live updates
Suitable for backend engineers interested in scaling Django applications for modern async workloads