When starting with Django, it's crucial to understand the framework's structure and its MVC (Model-View-Controller) design, which Django refers to as MVT (Model-View-Template). Familiarizing yourself with these concepts will enable you to create more organized and maintainable code. Here are some essential tips to kickstart your journey:

1. Master the Django Admin: Django's built-in admin interface is a powerful tool for managing your application's data. Spend some time customizing and utilizing it to streamline your development process.
2. Utilize Django's ORM: The Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) system simplifies database interactions. Take full advantage of this feature to avoid writing complex SQL queries.

Setting up a Django project in under 10 minutes is entirely feasible if you follow these simple steps. First, ensure you have Python and pip installed on your machine. If you haven’t, download and install them from the official Python website. Once you have Python ready, open your terminal and run the command pip install django to install the Django framework. This process will only take a few moments, and once completed, you can create your first project by executing django-admin startproject projectname, replacing projectname with your desired project name.

Next, navigate into your project folder using cd projectname. To verify that your Django installation is successful and everything has been set up correctly, run the development server with the command python manage.py runserver. Visiting http://127.0.0.1:8000/ in your web browser will display the default Django welcome page, confirming that your project is running smoothly. In just a few short minutes, you’ve set up your Django project and are ready to start developing!

Django, while an incredible framework for web development, is not without its pitfalls. Many beginners and even experienced developers fall into common traps that can lead to inefficiencies and bugs. One of the most prevalent mistakes is neglecting proper database query optimization. Developers often write queries that result in N+1 problems, where additional queries are made for each retrieved object, significantly slowing down the application. To avoid this, aim to use select_related and prefetch_related when working with related objects. This adjustment can drastically improve performance by minimizing query counts.

Another frequent mistake is failing to implement security best practices when developing Django applications. Common oversights include not using CSRF protection and not validating user input properly. This can leave applications vulnerable to attacks such as Cross-Site Request Forgery and SQL injection. Developers should always ensure that security features are utilized, such as enabling SECURE_BROWSER_XSS_FILTER and X_FRAME_OPTIONS in settings, as well as leveraging Django's built-in security features to safeguard user data and application integrity.