id	summary	reporter	owner	description	type	status	component	version	severity	resolution	keywords	cc	stage	has_patch	needs_docs	needs_tests	needs_better_patch	easy	ui_ux
29265	Docs about static files should explain benefits of using {% static %} template tag	Ryan Govostes	nobody	"The [https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.0/howto/static-files/ guide on managing static files] says,

    In your templates, either hardcode the url like `/static/my_app/example.jpg` or, preferably, use the `static` template tag to build the URL for the given relative path by using the configured `STATICFILES_STORAGE` storage (this makes it much easier when you want to switch to a content delivery network (CDN) for serving static files).

(Nit: The first ""url"" should be capitalized.)

The text alludes to but does not really explain that if you use a static files storage backend that inherits from `ManifestStaticFilesStorage`, the `static` template tag will use the name of the hashed file in production, which enables longer-lived caches.

Since the behavior is different in debug mode, I think many users will not even know about it, and fail to opt-in to the better caching behavior by hard-coding paths. (The files storage backend is turned on if the developer follows the WhiteNoise setup guide, or when using the Heroku app template, neither of which specifically calls out the need to use `static`.)"	Cleanup/optimization	closed	Documentation	2.0	Normal	fixed			Accepted	1	0	0	0	0	0