Which Django Version to use

Django has now standardized on a release schedule with three kinds of releases:

• Feature release: These releases will have new features or improvements to existing features. It will happen every eight months and will have 16 months of extended support from release. They have version numbers like A.B (note there's no minor version).

• Long-Term Support (LTS) release: These are special kinds of feature releases, which have a longer extended support of three years from the release date. These releases will happen every two years. They have version numbers like A.2 (since every third feature release will be an LTS). LTS releases have few months of overlap to aid in a smoother migration.
• Patch release: These releases are bug fixes or security patches. It is recommended to deploy them as soon as possible. Since they have minimal breaking changes, these upgrades should be painless to apply. They have version numbers like A.B.C

The following Django roadmap visualized should make the release approach clearer:

Django Release Roadmap 

Django 1.11 LTS will be the last release to support Python 2 and it is supported until April 2020. Subsequent versions will only use Python 3.

The right Django version for you will be based on how frequently you can upgrade your Django installation and what features you need. If your project is actively developed and the Django Version can be upgraded at least once in 16 months, then you should install the latest feature release regardless of whether it is LTS or non-LTS.

Otherwise, if your project is only occasionally developed, then you should pick the most recent LTS version. Upgrading your project's Django dependency from one feature release to another can be a non-trivial effort. So, read the release notes and plan accordingly.

This book takes advantage of Django 2.0 features, wherever possible.