diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 33741a8..c6ed7d3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,24 +1,63 @@
-# build output
-dist/
-.output/
-
-# dependencies
+# Node modules and logs
 node_modules/
-
-# logs
 npm-debug.log*
 yarn-debug.log*
 yarn-error.log*
 pnpm-debug.log*
 
+# Local env and secrets
+.env*
+!.env.example
 
-# environment variables
-.env
-.env.production
-
-# macOS-specific files
+# OS/IDE/editor files
 .DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
+.vscode/
+.idea/
+*.swp
 
-pnpm-lock.yaml
+# Build output
+dist/
+.cache/
+output/
+astro.config.mjs
+.svelte-kit/
 
-.astro
\ No newline at end of file
+# Testing and reports
+coverage/
+*.lcov
+
+# Lock files (optional: if not committing them)
+# package-lock.json
+# yarn.lock
+# pnpm-lock.yaml
+
+# Generated build artifacts
+*.tsbuildinfo
+
+# Docker artifacts
+docker-compose.override.yml
+*.log
+
+# Custom zip or temp assets
+*.zip
+*.tar.gz
+backup/
+inter.zip
+
+# Optional: static deployment cache
+.vercel/
+.netlify/
+
+# Optional: ignore public/index.html if it’s generated dynamically
+# public/index.html
+
+# Astro preview build cache (if used)
+.astro/
+
+# Ignore any custom scripts or test results
+*.test.*
+*.bench.*
+
+# Nginx config if used but private
+nginx/*.conf
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.netlify/v1/config.json b/.netlify/v1/config.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 05f78f2..0000000
--- a/.netlify/v1/config.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-{"images":{"remote_images":["https?://cdn\\.pixabay\\.com/.*","https?://raw\\.githubusercontent\\.com/.*"]},"headers":[{"for":"/_astro/*","values":{"Cache-Control":"public, max-age=31536000, immutable"}}]}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/netlify/functions/contact.js b/netlify/functions/contact.js
deleted file mode 100644
index ab327e2..0000000
--- a/netlify/functions/contact.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-import { JSDOM } from 'jsdom';
-import createDOMPurify from 'dompurify';
-
-export const handler = async (event) => {
-  try {
-    const data = JSON.parse(event.body);
-    const DOMPurify = createDOMPurify(new JSDOM('').window);
-
-    // Sanitize user input
-    const sanitizedData = {
-      name: DOMPurify.sanitize(data.name),
-      email: DOMPurify.sanitize(data.email),
-      message: DOMPurify.sanitize(data.message),
-    };
-
-    // TODO: Process the sanitized data (e.g., send an email)
-    console.log('Sanitized data:', sanitizedData);
-
-    return {
-      statusCode: 200,
-      body: JSON.stringify({ message: 'Form submitted successfully!' }),
-    };
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error('Error:', error);
-    return {
-      statusCode: 500,
-      body: JSON.stringify({ message: 'An error occurred.' }),
-    };
-  }
-};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/nginx/nginx.conf b/nginx/nginx.conf
index 4de4ee7..c66b414 100644
--- a/nginx/nginx.conf
+++ b/nginx/nginx.conf
@@ -1,31 +1,70 @@
-worker_processes 1;
+worker_processes auto;
 
 events {
     worker_connections 1024;
 }
 
 http {
+    include       /etc/nginx/mime.types;
+    default_type  application/octet-stream;
+
+    sendfile        on;
+    keepalive_timeout  65;
+
+    gzip on;
+    gzip_disable "msie6";
+    gzip_vary on;
+    gzip_proxied any;
+    gzip_comp_level 6;
+    gzip_buffers 16 8k;
+    gzip_http_version 1.1;
+    gzip_min_length 1000;
+    gzip_types
+        text/plain
+        text/css
+        application/json
+        application/javascript
+        application/x-javascript
+        text/xml
+        application/xml
+        application/xml+rss
+        text/javascript
+        image/svg+xml
+        font/woff2;
+
     server {
         listen 8080;
         server_name _;
 
         root /usr/share/nginx/html;
         index index.html index.htm;
-        include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
-
-        gzip on;
-        gzip_min_length 1000;
-        gzip_proxied expired no-cache no-store private auth;
-        gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript application/x-javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;
 
+        # Error pages
         error_page 404 /404.html;
         location = /404.html {
-            root /usr/share/nginx/html;
             internal;
         }
 
+        # Main route fallback
         location / {
             try_files $uri $uri/index.html =404;
         }
+
+        # 🚫 Block hidden and sensitive files (e.g., .env, .git)
+        location ~ /\.(?!well-known).* {
+            deny all;
+        }
+
+        # 🚫 Block access to config and archive files
+        location ~* \.(cjs|ts|json|sh|zip|log|env)$ {
+            deny all;
+        }
+
+        # 🧠 Optional: cache static assets for 6 months
+        location ~* \.(?:ico|css|js|gif|jpe?g|png|woff2?|eot|ttf|svg|otf|webp)$ {
+            expires 6M;
+            access_log off;
+            add_header Cache-Control "public";
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/components/LanguageDropdown.astro b/src/components/LanguageDropdown.astro
index cb150f2..38c832a 100644
--- a/src/components/LanguageDropdown.astro
+++ b/src/components/LanguageDropdown.astro
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ const currentLanguage = languages.find((lang) => lang.code === currentLang) || l
 
         // Force a complete page reload to ensure all content is updated to the new language
         // This bypasses any client-side caching and ensures a fresh server render
-        window.location.href = newFullUrl + '?t=' + Date.now();
+        // window.location.href = newFullUrl + '?t=' + Date.now();
       });
     });