diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index da7528d..e60ee00 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -6,12 +6,10 @@
 
 # Docker files should not be in the build context
 Dockerfile
-docker-compose.yml
-docker-compose.dev.yml
 
 # Node.js dependencies are installed inside the container
 node_modules
-npm-debug.log
+npm-debug.log*
 
 # Build output is generated inside the container
 _site
diff --git a/.vscode/launch.json b/.vscode/launch.json
index ae1b5dc..3de63a0 100644
--- a/.vscode/launch.json
+++ b/.vscode/launch.json
@@ -2,16 +2,20 @@
   "version": "0.2.0",
   "configurations": [
     {
-      "name": "Docker: Attach to Node",
+      "name": "Debug Eleventy",
       "type": "node",
-      "request": "attach",
+      "request": "launch",
+      "runtimeExecutable": "npm",
+      "runtimeArgs": [
+        "start"
+      ],
       "port": 9229,
-      "address": "localhost",
-      "localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}",
-      "remoteRoot": "/app",
-      "restart": false,
-      "preLaunchTask": "docker-compose-up",
-      "postDebugTask": "docker-compose-down"
+      "console": "integratedTerminal",
+      "serverReadyAction": {
+        "pattern": "Web Server running at (http://localhost:[0-9]+)",
+        "uriFormat": "%s",
+        "action": "openExternally"
+      }
     }
   ]
 }
diff --git a/.vscode/tasks.json b/.vscode/tasks.json
index e110dd6..dfa528f 100644
--- a/.vscode/tasks.json
+++ b/.vscode/tasks.json
@@ -1,34 +1,6 @@
 {
   "version": "2.0.0",
   "tasks": [
-    {
-      "label": "docker-compose-up",
-      "type": "shell",
-      "command": "docker compose up --build",
-      "isBackground": true,
-      "problemMatcher": [
-        {
-          "pattern": [
-            {
-              "regexp": ".",
-              "file": 1,
-              "location": 2,
-              "message": 3
-            }
-          ],
-          "background": {
-            "activeOnStart": true,
-            "beginsPattern": "Attaching to",
-            "endsPattern": "Debugger listening on"
-          }
-        }
-      ]
-    },
-    {
-      "label": "docker-compose-down",
-      "type": "shell",
-      "command": "docker compose down --volumes"
-    },
     {
       "label": "Docker: Build and Push Production Image",
       "type": "shell",
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 7efca91..49d8266 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -18,17 +18,7 @@ COPY package*.json ./
 # Use `npm ci` for faster, more reliable builds from package-lock.json
 RUN npm ci
 
-# STAGE 2: Development
-# This stage is for local development. It includes devDependencies and source code.
-# In docker-compose.dev.yml, the source is mounted for hot-reloading.
-FROM deps AS development
-
-# The source code is mounted via docker-compose for development,
-# so we don't need to COPY it into the image. This keeps the dev image small.
-# We only need the WORKDIR and the installed node_modules from the 'deps' stage.
-CMD ["npm", "start"]
-
-# STAGE 3: Builder
+# STAGE 2: Builder
 # This stage builds the Eleventy site for production.
 FROM deps AS builder
 COPY . .
@@ -37,7 +27,7 @@ RUN npm run build
 # After building, remove development dependencies to keep the final image small.
 RUN npm prune --omit=dev
 
-# STAGE 4: Production
+# STAGE 3: Production
 # This stage creates a lean, production-ready image.
 FROM node:18-alpine AS production
 WORKDIR /app
@@ -53,8 +43,11 @@ COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/node_modules ./node_modules
 COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/package.json ./package.json
 COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/server.js .
 COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/_site ./_site
-# The _data directory is handled by the volume, but we copy it so the volume can be pre-populated on first run.
-COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/src/_data/ ./_data/
+
+# Copy the data directory. The server writes view counts here.
+# This directory should be mounted as a volume
+# to persist the view count data across container restarts.
+COPY --from=builder --chown=node:node /app/src/_data ./_data
 COPY --chown=node:node healthcheck.js .
 
 # Copy and set up the entrypoint script
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 025a4b9..0000000
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,60 +0,0 @@
-# docker-compose.dev.yml for development
-# This setup runs two services:
-# 1. The Eleventy dev server for live-reloading site changes.
-# 2. The Express API server for the view counter.
-#
-# To start both, run: docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up
-#
-# Your site will be available at http://localhost:8080.
-# API requests are proxied from /api to the API service, so you don't need to access port 3000 directly.
-services:
-  # This service runs the Eleventy development server.
-  eleventy:
-    build:
-      context: .
-      target: development # Use the 'development' stage from the Dockerfile
-    # Adding `init: true` ensures that the container's main process receives
-    # signals correctly (like SIGINT/SIGTERM) when you stop the container.
-    # This helps the dev server to shut down gracefully.
-    init: true
-    container_name: eleventy_dev
-    ports:
-      - "9229:9229" # Node.js debugger port
-      - "8080:8080" # Eleventy dev server port
-    volumes:
-      # Mount the project directory for live-reloading.
-      # The anonymous volume for node_modules prevents the local one from overwriting the container's.
-      - .:/app
-      - /app/node_modules
-    networks:
-      # Both services need to be on the same network for the Eleventy dev server
-      # to proxy requests to the API container using its service name ('api').
-      - dev_network
-    # This command runs Eleventy's dev server with file watching.
-    command: npm run debug
-
-  # This service runs your Express API server.
-  api:
-    build:
-      context: .
-      target: development # Use the same 'development' stage
-    # Adding `init: true` is especially important for debugging. It ensures
-    # the Node.js process receives shutdown signals, allowing the debugger
-    # to detach cleanly.
-    init: true
-    container_name: api_dev
-    # The API port does not need to be exposed to the host. The 'eleventy'
-    # service proxies requests to it over the internal Docker network.
-    volumes:
-      - .:/app
-      - /app/node_modules
-    networks:
-      - dev_network
-    # Use Node's built-in --watch mode instead of nodemon. It can be more
-    # stable inside Docker and avoids some of nodemon's complexities. The
-    # --inspect flag is attached to the 'eleventy' service for debugging.
-    command: node --watch server.js
-
-networks:
-  dev_network:
-    driver: bridge