How to Customize Site Title, Site Header, and Index Title in Django Admin?

python

django-admin

customization

template-engineering

byAlex Kataev·Sep 15, 2024

To swiftly alter your Django Admin titles, subclass the AdminSite and declare site_header, site_title, and index_title. Use the followng script and implement it in your Django project:

from django.contrib.admin import AdminSite

class CustomAdminSite(AdminSite):
    site_header = 'Your Brand in the Admin Header'
    site_title = 'Your Site Title - Unique and Remarkable'
    index_title = 'Welcome to Your Admin Dashboard'

admin_site = CustomAdminSite()

# Update 'admin.site.urls' to 'admin_site.urls' in your urls.py

Customize 'Your Brand in the Admin Header', 'Your Site Title - Unique and Remarkable', and 'Welcome to Your Admin Dashboard' as per your preference. Hook this customization into urls.py to witness the changes.

Customization in depth

Personalized branding through template

You can further customize your Django Admin interface by creating a custom base_site.html in your templates/admin/ directory:

{% extends "admin/base_site.html" %}
{% block branding %}
<h1 id="site-name"><a href="{% url 'admin:index' %}">Kick-ass Brand Name</a></h1>
{% endblock %}

Ensure templates/admin is within DIRS in TEMPLATES setting of settings.py:

TEMPLATES = [
    {
        # ...
        'DIRS': [os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'templates/admin'),],
        # ...
    },
]

Funny dynamic headers

For the die-hard fans of context-dependent or logic-based site headers, use a custom function because why not:

def get_admin_header():
    # Hear, hear! Here's your logic for the desired header string
    return "Dinosaurs-R-Us Admin Portal."

# Set funny site headers in your urls.py or admin.py
admin.site.site_header = get_admin_header()

Advanced customization with subclassing

Need to pull the big guns? Go for the AdminSite subclass for total control over your admin site quirks:

from django.contrib.admin import AdminSite

class MyAdminSite(AdminSite):
    # Define your monstrosities (read: custom methods and custom attributes) here

my_admin_site = MyAdminSite(name='myadmin')

In urls.py, replace admin.site with your my_admin_site.

Language diversity with ugettext_lazy

Are your users more diverse than a box of crayons? Set up ugettext_lazy to translate admin text for multilingual support:

from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _

class MultilingualAdminSite(AdminSite):
    site_header = _('Welcome, Earthlings')  # Welcome message for aliens.
    site_title = _('Planet Earth Admin')  # Dominating Admin Branding
    index_title = _('Dashboard - Your spaceship control room')  

multilingual_admin_site = MultilingualAdminSite()

Craft over code: Branding-focused customization

Craft a unique look for your Django Admin with a tailored site header. Use admin.site.site_header = 'Global Admin Empire' in your urls.py or admin.py for swift and personal branding.

Potential hurdles and how to crush them

While customizing Django Admin is generally fuss-free, here are potential pitfalls and their solutions:

Template discovery failure: Adjust settings.py to include your templates/ directory in TEMPLATES['DIRS'].
Inconsistencies between various settings: Ensure you are not overriding your custom AdminSite in your code.
Gotcha with internationalization: If using ugettext_lazy, ensure correct importation and usage, supporting lazy translation.