Django Webfaction 'Timeout when reading response headers from daemon process'

Here is how I was able to find the root cause of my issue.

python manage.py showmigrations

My app could not reach the database server, so it would eventually time out. Running manage.py I could see see the error message on the console.

Try increasing Timeout directive in httpd.conf, which defaults to 60 seconds in Apache 2.4. For example:

TimeOut 600

Python C extension modules, like numpy, are known to cause timeouts when used under mod_wsgi. There's a clear explanation of the problem (direct from the author of mod_wsgi) available at https://serverfault.com/a/514251/109598

If that sounds like it might be the cause of your problem, then the solution is probably simple - add the following to your httpd.conf:

WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}

Be sure to restart your Apache instance after making that change.