diff --git a/backend/app/core/config.py b/backend/app/core/config.py
index 7a9df5b..8072e6a 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/config.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/config.py
@@ -1,27 +1,27 @@
-from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
+from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings, SettingsConfigDict
 
 
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
-    # Frontend Config
-    FRONTEND_URL: str
+    # Load environment variables from the local .env file
+    # so the backend can run correctly during local development.
+    model_config = SettingsConfigDict(
+        env_file=".env",
+        env_file_encoding="utf-8",
+    )
 
-    # LLM Provider
+    FRONTEND_URL: str
     PROVIDER: str
-
-    # Azure OpenAI Config
     AZURE_API_VERSION: str
     AZURE_ENDPOINT: str
     AZURE_API_KEY: str
     AZURE_DEPLOYMENT_NAME: str
     AZURE_EMBEDDING_DEPLOYMENT_NAME: str
-
-    # Qdrant Config
     QDRANT_URL: str
     QDRANT_COLLECTION_NAME: str
-
-    # Langfuse Config
     LANGFUSE_SECRET_KEY: str
     LANGFUSE_PUBLIC_KEY: str
     LANGFUSE_HOST: str
 
-settings = Settings()
+
+# Create one shared settings object for the app
+settings = Settings()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/frontend/app/page.tsx b/frontend/app/page.tsx
index ede5909..41ec79b 100644
--- a/frontend/app/page.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/page.tsx
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
                 AI Explorer
               </span>
             </div>
+
             <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
               <Button variant="outline" size="sm" asChild>
                 <Link href="/signin" className="flex items-center gap-2">
@@ -39,6 +40,7 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
                   Sign In
                 </Link>
               </Button>
+
               <Button size="sm" asChild>
                 <Link href="/signup" className="flex items-center gap-2">
                   <UserPlus className="h-4 w-4" />
@@ -54,7 +56,7 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
         <div className="container mx-auto px-4 max-w-6xl flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
           {/* Hero Section */}
           <div className="text-center mb-16">
-            <div className="flex items-center justify-center gap-4 mb-6">
+            <div className="flex flex-col lg:flex-row items-center justify-center gap-6 mb-6">
               <Image
                 src="/VCellLogo.png"
                 alt="VCell Logo"
@@ -62,17 +64,20 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
                 height={120}
                 className="rounded-lg"
               />
-              <h1 className="text-5xl md:text-6xl lg:text-7xl font-bold text-slate-900 leading-tight">
-                VCell Models
-                <br />
-                <span className="text-blue-600">AI Explorer</span>
-              </h1>
-            </div>
 
-            <p className="text-lg md:text-xl text-slate-600 mb-8 max-w-3xl mx-auto leading-relaxed">
-              Discover, analyze, and explore biomodels with the power of AI.
-              Comprehensive platform for scientific model research.
-            </p>
+              <div className="text-center lg:text-left">
+                <h1 className="text-5xl md:text-6xl lg:text-7xl font-bold text-slate-900 leading-tight">
+                  Explore VCell Models
+                  <br />
+                  <span className="text-blue-600">with AI</span>
+                </h1>
+
+                <p className="mt-4 text-lg md:text-xl text-slate-600 max-w-2xl leading-relaxed">
+                  Search, analyze, and understand biological models more easily
+                  through a cleaner and more user-friendly interface.
+                </p>
+              </div>
+            </div>
 
             <div className="flex flex-col sm:flex-row gap-4 justify-center items-center">
               <Link href="/chat">
@@ -84,13 +89,14 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
                   <ArrowRight className="ml-2 h-5 w-5" />
                 </Button>
               </Link>
+
               <Link href="/signup">
                 <Button
                   variant="outline"
                   size="lg"
                   className="border-2 border-blue-600 text-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-50 px-8 py-4 text-lg font-semibold rounded-lg transition-all duration-200"
                 >
-                  Join Now!
+                  Join Now
                 </Button>
               </Link>
             </div>
@@ -98,7 +104,6 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
 
           {/* Features Section */}
           <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-6 mb-16 w-full">
-            {/* AI Chatbot Feature */}
             <Card className="border-slate-200 shadow-lg hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-200">
               <CardHeader className="text-center pb-2">
                 <div className="w-14 h-14 bg-blue-100 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center mx-auto mb-2">
@@ -111,13 +116,12 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
               <CardContent className="text-center">
                 <p className="text-slate-600 leading-relaxed">
                   Ask questions in natural language and get intelligent
-                  responses. The Chatbot can retrieve, and analyze biomodels
-                  using LLMs with Tool Calling.
+                  responses. The chatbot can retrieve and analyze biomodels
+                  using LLMs with tool calling.
                 </p>
               </CardContent>
             </Card>
 
-            {/* All-in-One Tools Feature */}
             <Card className="border-slate-200 shadow-lg hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-200">
               <CardHeader className="text-center pb-2">
                 <div className="w-14 h-14 bg-blue-100 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center mx-auto mb-2">
@@ -132,6 +136,7 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
                   <p className="text-slate-600 leading-relaxed mb-2">
                     All essential tools in one platform
                   </p>
+
                   <div className="space-y-1 text-sm">
                     <div className="flex items-center justify-center gap-2">
                       <div className="w-2 h-2 bg-blue-500 rounded-full"></div>
@@ -139,22 +144,23 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
                         Biomodel Database Search
                       </span>
                     </div>
+
                     <div className="flex items-center justify-center gap-2">
                       <div className="w-2 h-2 bg-blue-500 rounded-full"></div>
                       <span className="text-slate-700">
                         VCML and SBML File Retrieval
                       </span>
                     </div>
+
                     <div className="flex items-center justify-center gap-2">
                       <div className="w-2 h-2 bg-blue-500 rounded-full"></div>
-                      <span className="text-slate-700">Biomodels Diagrams</span>
+                      <span className="text-slate-700">Biomodel Diagrams</span>
                     </div>
                   </div>
                 </div>
               </CardContent>
             </Card>
 
-            {/* Private Access Feature */}
             <Card className="border-slate-200 shadow-lg hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow duration-200">
               <CardHeader className="text-center pb-2">
                 <div className="w-14 h-14 bg-blue-100 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center mx-auto mb-2">
@@ -175,10 +181,9 @@ export default function LandingPage() {
         </div>
       </main>
 
-      {/* Footer */}
       <footer className="text-center border-t border-slate-200 text-sm">
         <p className="text-slate-500 my-4">VCell AI Model Explorer</p>
       </footer>
     </div>
   );
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file