diff --git a/netlify.toml b/netlify.toml
index bfdf789d..efd9f2ab 100644
--- a/netlify.toml
+++ b/netlify.toml
@@ -13,3 +13,6 @@
   # Works for both regular PRs and forked PRs
   ignore = "./netlify-ignore.sh"
 
+[build.environment]
+  # Disable git submodules - they are not needed for the website build
+  GIT_SUBMODULES = "false"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/website/netlify-ignore.sh b/website/netlify-ignore.sh
index 7391cc54..e46099b4 100755
--- a/website/netlify-ignore.sh
+++ b/website/netlify-ignore.sh
@@ -3,30 +3,26 @@
 # Based on official Netlify documentation: https://docs.netlify.com/configure-builds/ignore-builds/
 # Exit code: 0 = skip build, 1 = proceed with build
 
-# Base branch name (adjust if your default branch is named differently)
+# This script runs from the base directory (website/) but needs to check
+# changes relative to the repository root
+REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
 BASE_BRANCH="main"
 
 # First, try using Netlify's environment variables (works for regular PRs)
 if [ -n "$CACHED_COMMIT_REF" ] && [ -n "$COMMIT_REF" ]; then
-  if git diff --quiet $CACHED_COMMIT_REF $COMMIT_REF -- 'website/' 2>/dev/null; then
-    # No changes in website/ directory - skip build
+  if git diff --quiet $CACHED_COMMIT_REF $COMMIT_REF -- "$REPO_ROOT/website/" 2>/dev/null; then
     exit 0
   else
-    # Changes detected in website/ - proceed with build
     exit 1
   fi
 fi
 
 # For forked PRs or when env vars aren't available, fetch base branch and compare
-# Fetch the latest commit on the base branch
-git fetch origin $BASE_BRANCH:$BASE_BRANCH 2>/dev/null || true
+git fetch origin $BASE_BRANCH 2>/dev/null || true
 
 # Check for changes in the website/ directory using three-dot syntax (merge base comparison)
-# The three-dot syntax (BASE_BRANCH...HEAD) compares the merge base to HEAD
-if git diff --quiet origin/$BASE_BRANCH...HEAD -- 'website/' 2>/dev/null; then
-  # No changes detected in website/ directory - skip build
+if git diff --quiet origin/$BASE_BRANCH...HEAD -- "$REPO_ROOT/website/" 2>/dev/null; then
   exit 0
 else
-  # Changes detected in website/ directory - proceed with build
   exit 1
 fi
\ No newline at end of file