Getting started with Django can be an exciting journey for aspiring web developers. Django is a high-level Python web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. With its powerful yet easy-to-use features, beginners can quickly create robust web applications. To begin your journey, install Django by running pip install Django in your command line. Once installed, you can create a new project using the command django-admin startproject projectname, replacing projectname with your desired project name.

After setting up your project, it's essential to understand the structure of a Django application. A typical project consists of several key components: settings, urls, and views. Begin by configuring your settings.py file, where you can define database connections, allowed hosts, and installed applications. Next, map URLs to views in your urls.py file. Finally, create views in views.py to handle user requests. With these foundational elements, you'll be well-equipped to develop dynamic web applications.

Django is a powerful web framework that many developers use, but there are some features that often go unnoticed. Here are the top 10 Django features you didn't know about:

1. Middleware support: Django allows developers to create custom middleware to process requests and responses easily.
2. Admin interface: Its built-in admin interface is highly customizable, enabling quick modifications to the data structure.
3. Signals: With Django's signals, you can decouple your applications for better modularity and code clarity.
4. Context processors: These allow you to inject variables into your templates automatically, simplifying template usage.
5. QuerySet chaining: Efficiently filter and manipulate data with Django's chainable QuerySet operations.
6. Database migrations: Easily manage database schema changes without losing data.
7. Built-in test framework: Django comes with a simple yet effective testing framework that enhances application stability.
8. Form handling: It provides robust form validation and rendering, reducing repetitive code.
9. Template inheritance: Streamline your HTML by reusing base templates and extending them as needed.
10. Internationalization: Django supports multiple languages, making it easy to reach a global audience.

Debugging your Django application can be a daunting task, but with the right techniques, you can approach it like a pro. Start by ensuring you have DEBUG set to True in your settings.py file. This will provide detailed error messages that can help you identify issues quickly. Additionally, make use of Django's built-in pdb module to set breakpoints in your code. Here’s a simple way to do this:

1. Import pdb in your view: import pdb
2. Insert a breakpoint where needed: pdb.set_trace()
3. Run your server and interact with the application to enter the interactive debugger.

In addition to traditional debugging, consider utilizing third-party tools like django-debug-toolbar to visually analyze your application. This powerful tool provides insights into SQL queries, cache usage, and more, all while you navigate your application. Don't forget about logging! Setting up proper logging in your Django application can help track down elusive bugs. Here’s how to configure basic logging:

1. In your settings.py, define LOGGING configurations.
2. Set the log level to DEBUG or ERROR depending on your needs.
3. Inspect the logs generated to pinpoint issues that arise during execution.