diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9495ca7..0a0f3d9 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@
 data/*
 images/*
 .DS_Store
+build/*
diff --git a/config.go b/config.go
index 3d55751..0a2aeda 100644
--- a/config.go
+++ b/config.go
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	ImageStorageDir  string `yaml:"image_storage_dir"`
 	ListeningPort    int    `yaml:"listening_port"`
 	LogFile          string `yaml:"log_file"`
+	StaticFilesDir   string `yaml:"static_files_dir"`
+	AllowedOrigins   string `yaml:"allowed_origins"`
 }
 
 func LoadConfig(configPath string) (*Config, error) {
@@ -37,5 +39,13 @@ func LoadConfig(configPath string) (*Config, error) {
 		config.DatabasePath = dbPath
 	}
 
+	if config.StaticFilesDir == "" {
+		config.StaticFilesDir = "build"
+	}
+
+	if config.AllowedOrigins == "" {
+		config.AllowedOrigins = "http://localhost:3000"
+	}
+
 	return &config, nil
 }
diff --git a/config/config.yaml b/config/config.yaml
index 6478159..5de9a2d 100644
--- a/config/config.yaml
+++ b/config/config.yaml
@@ -3,4 +3,6 @@ test_database_path: "data/test_database.db"
 jwt_secret: "super_secret_key"
 image_storage_dir: "images"
 listening_port: 8080
-log_file: "boxes.log"
\ No newline at end of file
+log_file: "boxes.log"
+static_files_dir: "/app/build/"
+allowed_origins: "*"
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 0866145..a17ba91 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
+	"path/filepath"
 
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 	"github.com/jinzhu/gorm"
@@ -23,9 +24,18 @@ func main() {
 	var err error
 	config, err = LoadConfig(configFile)
 
+	// get the static files directory
+	staticPath := config.StaticFilesDir	 
+
+		// Add this before setting up the handler
+	if _, err := os.Stat(staticPath); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		log.Fatalf("Static directory does not exist: %s", staticPath)
+	}
+
 	// Get the allowed origins from the ALLOWED_ORIGINS environment variable
 	// If empty, defaults to http://localhost:3000
-	allowedOrigins := os.Getenv("BOXES_API_ALLOWED_ORIGINS")
+	allowedOrigins := config.AllowedOrigins
+	fmt.Println("Allowed origins: ", allowedOrigins)
 	origins := []string{"http://localhost:3000"} // Default value
 
 	if allowedOrigins != "" {
@@ -52,12 +62,25 @@ func main() {
 	}
 	defer db.Close()
 
+	// Modify your custom handler to include more detailed logging
+	customHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		log.Printf("Attempting to serve: %s from directory: %s", r.URL.Path, staticPath)
+		fullPath := filepath.Join(staticPath, r.URL.Path)
+		if _, err := os.Stat(fullPath); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			log.Printf("File not found: %s", fullPath)
+			http.NotFound(w, r)
+			return
+		}
+		http.FileServer(http.Dir(staticPath)).ServeHTTP(w, r)
+	})
+
 	fmt.Println("Default user 'boxuser' created successfully!")
 
 	// Create the router
 	baseRouter := mux.NewRouter()
 
 	router := baseRouter.PathPrefix("/api/v1").Subrouter()
+	staticRouter := baseRouter.PathPrefix("/").Subrouter()
 
 	// Define your routes
 	router.Handle("/login", http.HandlerFunc(LoginHandler)).Methods("POST", "OPTIONS")
@@ -89,6 +112,15 @@ func main() {
 	managementRouter.Handle("/db", http.HandlerFunc(BackupDatabaseHandler)).Methods("GET", "OPTIONS")
 	managementRouter.Handle("/db", http.HandlerFunc(RestoreDatabaseHandler)).Methods("POST", "OPTIONS")
 
+	// Define a route for serving static files
+	fmt.Println("Serving static files from:", staticPath)
+    //staticHandler := http.FileServer(http.Dir(staticPath))
+	fmt.Println("Registering route for serving static files, no StripPrefix")
+    //staticRouter.HandleFunc("/", customHandler).Methods("GET", "OPTIONS")
+	// perplexity recommends:
+	staticRouter.PathPrefix("/").Handler(http.StripPrefix("/", customHandler))
+
+	
 	// Apply CORS middleware
 	c := cors.New(cors.Options{
 		AllowedOrigins:   origins,
@@ -100,5 +132,5 @@ func main() {
 
 	// Start the server with CORS middleware
 	fmt.Printf("Server listening on port %d\n", config.ListeningPort)
-	http.ListenAndServe(fmt.Sprintf(":%d", config.ListeningPort), c.Handler(router))
+	http.ListenAndServe(fmt.Sprintf(":%d", config.ListeningPort), c.Handler(baseRouter))
 }