URL Validation in Django

Last Updated : 8 Apr, 2026

Validating URLs is an important part of web development to ensure data integrity and prevent errors. Django provides built-in tools that make URL validation simple and reliable. Using Django's URLValidator, URLs can be checked for correctness before storing them in the database or using them in views and forms.

Django's URL Validator

URLValidator is a built-in Django tool that ensures a string is a valid URL according to standard URL formats.

  • Supports URL schemes like http and https.
  • Detects malformed URLs to prevent runtime errors.
  • Can validate URLs in models for stored data.
  • Can validate URLs in forms for user input.
  • Can be used independently in Python code for custom validation.

Steps to Use URLValidator in Django

Consider a project named 'bookstore' having an app named 'mini'. Let's create a model of which we will be creating instances through view.

Step 1: Define the Model

In mini/models.py:

Python 
from django.db import models

class ValidatedURL(models.Model):
    url = models.URLField(unique=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.url

In the above model.py:

  • URLField automatically validates URLs.
  • unique=True ensures no duplicate URLs are stored.

Step 2: Create form.py

In mini/forms.py, create a form for URL submission:

Python 
from django import forms
from django.core.validators import URLValidator

class URLForm(forms.Form):
    url = forms.URLField(
        label='Enter a URL',
        widget=forms.TextInput(attrs={'placeholder': 'https://example.com/'})
    )

In the above form.py:

  • URLValidator() ensures the string follows standard URL syntax.
  • widget=forms.TextInput adds a placeholder for better user experience.
  • Can be used independently, without a model, for quick URL validation.

Step 3: Create Views

In mini/views.py, define views for submitting and displaying validated URLs:

Python 
from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from .forms import URLForm
from .models import ValidatedURL

def index(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = URLForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            url = form.cleaned_data['url']
            ValidatedURL.objects.create(url=url)
            return redirect('success')
    else:
        form = URLForm()
    return render(request, 'mini/index.html', {'form': form})

def success(request):
    validated_urls = ValidatedURL.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'mini/success.html', {'validated_urls': validated_urls})

In the above views.py:

  • index view handles form display (GET) and URL submission (POST).
  • Valid URLs are saved to the database using the ValidatedURL model.
  • Redirects to the success view after successful submission.
  • success view retrieves all validated URLs and displays them in a template.

Step 4: Create the Templates

Templates handle user interaction - one for submitting URLs and another for displaying validated ones.

index.html: URL submission form

HTML 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>URL Validator</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>URL Validator</h1>
    <form method="post">
        {% csrf_token %}
        {{ form.as_p }}
        <button type="submit">Submit</button>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

In the above index.html:

  • Displays a form created from URLForm.
  • Uses csrf_token for security during POST requests.
  • Submits the form data to the index view for validation.

template/success.html: Display validated URLs

HTML 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Validated URLs</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Validated URLs</h1>
    <ul>
        {% for url in validated_urls %}
            <li>{{ url }}</li>
        {% empty %}
            <li>No validated URLs yet.</li>
        {% endfor %}
    </ul>
    <a href="{% url 'index' %}">Back to validation</a>
</body>
</html>

In the above success.html:

  • Loops through all validated URLs stored in the database.
  • Displays each URL in a list format.
  • Includes a navigation link to return to the validation form.

Step 5: Configure URLs

Define the URL patterns for the app to connect views with routes.

In mini/urls.py:

Python 
from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.index, name='index'),
    path('success/', views.success, name='success'),
]

In the above urls.py:

  • The empty path '' maps to the index view for URL submission.
  • The path 'success/' maps to the success view to display validated URLs.
  • Each path is assigned a name for easy reference in templates and redirects.

Step 6: Incude app URLs in the Project URLs

In the project's main urls.py, include the app’s URLs to make them accessible from the root URL.

In url_validator_project/urls.py

Python 
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('', include('mini.urls')),
]

Output

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