Getting started with Django is an exciting journey into the world of web development. Django is a high-level Python web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. To kick off your adventure, you should begin by installing Django. You can do this easily using pip, Python's package manager. Open your terminal and run the command pip install Django. After the installation, create your first Django project with the command django-admin startproject myproject. This will set up a new directory with the necessary files and configurations for your project.

Once your project is created, it's time to start the development server. Navigate to your project directory and run python manage.py runserver. This command will start a local server, allowing you to view your project in a web browser at http://127.0.0.1:8000/. From here, you can begin to build your application. Consider creating your first app by running the command python manage.py startapp myapp. Remember, Django follows the MTV (Model-Template-View) pattern, which organizes your web development process in an efficient manner, allowing for better scalability and maintainability of your code.

Building a To-Do List App with Django is an excellent way to enhance your programming skills and understand the Django framework's capabilities. In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of creating a simple yet functional to-do application. First, ensure you have Django installed in your development environment. You can do this using pip by running pip install Django. Once you have it installed, create a new project by executing django-admin startproject todo_app in your terminal.

Next, we will create our To-Do List app within the project. Navigate into your project directory and run python manage.py startapp tasks. This command generates a new directory containing files necessary for our app. To structure our application effectively, we will define a model for our tasks in models.py, create views to display and manage these tasks, and set up the URLs for navigation. Lastly, don't forget to migrate your database using python manage.py migrate and run the development server with python manage.py runserver to see your To-Do List App in action!

Django development, while powerful and efficient, often comes with its own set of challenges that can hinder progress. Among these, one of the most common hurdles is database management. Developers frequently encounter issues with database migrations and schema changes, which can lead to data inconsistency. To overcome this, it's crucial to adopt best practices such as:

1. Regularly testing migrations in a staging environment before production deployment.
2. Maintaining clear documentation of database changes.
3. Utilizing Django’s built-in migrate command to automate and streamline the migration process.

Another prevalent challenge in Django development is ensuring scalability and performance. As applications grow, managing resources effectively becomes paramount. Developers may struggle with slow query times and server response issues. Strategies to overcome these obstacles include:

1. Implementing database indexing to improve query performance.
2. Using Django’s caching frameworks to reduce server load.
3. Regularly profiling and optimizing code to eliminate bottlenecks.