diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 28eeb90..de89dbd 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,12 +1,29 @@
 FROM python:3.11-slim
 
+# Install system dependencies for eventlet/production networking
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    gcc \
+    python3-dev \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 WORKDIR /app
 
-COPY requirements.txt ./
+# Install requirements first to leverage Docker cache
+COPY requirements.txt .
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
 
-COPY app.py ./
+# Copy the application files
+COPY app.py .
 COPY templates/ ./templates/
+# Copy static folder, ensuring cache subfolder exists
 COPY static/ ./static/
+RUN mkdir -p /app/static/cache
+
+# Expose the port Flask is running on
+EXPOSE 5000
+
+# Set environment variables for Flask
+ENV FLASK_ENV=production
+ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
 
 CMD ["python", "app.py"]
\ No newline at end of file