diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 99fdf03..0b5594b 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 CELERY_BROKER_URL='redis://redis:6379/0'
 CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND='redis://redis:6379/0'
-DJANGO_DEBUG='True'
+DJANGO_DEBUG='False'
 DJANGO_SECRET_KEY='changeme'
diff --git a/src/epub2go_web/settings.py b/src/epub2go_web/settings.py
index a0745b8..f0e567e 100644
--- a/src/epub2go_web/settings.py
+++ b/src/epub2go_web/settings.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.1/ref/settings/
 
 import environ
 from pathlib import Path
+import os
 
 
 # Build paths inside the project like this: BASE_DIR / 'subdir'.
@@ -19,7 +20,9 @@ PROJ_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
 BASE_DIR = PROJ_DIR.parent
 env = environ.Env(
     DJANGO_DEBUG=(bool, True),
+    DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=(str, 'changeme'),
 )
+environ.Env.read_env(os.path.join(BASE_DIR, '.env'))
 
 
 # Quick-start development settings - unsuitable for production