diff --git a/backend/index.js b/backend/index.js
index 80a1b2c..40d6058 100644
--- a/backend/index.js
+++ b/backend/index.js
@@ -3,35 +3,92 @@ require('dotenv').config();
 const express = require('express');
 const cors = require('cors');
 const mongoose = require('mongoose');
+const helmet = require('helmet');
+const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');
+const mongoSanitize = require('express-mongo-sanitize');
+const xss = require('xss-clean');
+
 const seedDB = require('./seed/productSeeds');
 const syncWeaviate = require('./sync/syncWeaviate');
 const productRoutes = require('./routes/products');
 const checkoutRoutes = require('./routes/checkout');
 const authRoutes = require('./routes/auth');
-const { swaggerUi, swaggerSpec, setupSwaggerUi, setupSwaggerJson } = require('./docs/swagger');
+const searchRoutes = require('./routes/search');
+const { setupSwaggerUi, setupSwaggerJson } = require('./docs/swagger');
+
+// Validate required environment variables
+const requiredEnv = ['MONGO_URI', 'JWT_SECRET'];
+requiredEnv.forEach(key => {
+  if (!process.env[key]) {
+    console.error(`❌ Missing required env var: ${key}`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+});
 
 // Create Express App
 const app = express();
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 8000;
 
-// Database Connection + Seed + Weaviate Sync + Server Start
+// Security middleware
+app.disable('x-powered-by');
+app.use(helmet());
+
+const corsOptions = {
+  origin: process.env.CORS_ORIGIN?.split(',') || [],
+  methods: ['GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'DELETE'],
+  credentials: true,
+};
+app.use(cors(corsOptions));
+
+app.use(express.json());
+app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
+app.use(mongoSanitize());
+app.use(xss());
+
+// Rate limiter for auth routes
+const authLimiter = rateLimit({
+  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000,
+  max: 10,
+  message: 'Too many login attempts, try again later.',
+});
+app.use('/api/auth', authLimiter, authRoutes);
+
+// Routes
+app.use('/api/products', productRoutes);
+app.use('/api/checkout', checkoutRoutes);
+app.use('/api/search', searchRoutes);
+
+// Swagger docs (disable in production unless needed)
+if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+  app.get('/', (req, res) => res.redirect('/api-docs'));
+  setupSwaggerJson(app);
+  setupSwaggerUi(app);
+}
+
+// Error handling
+app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
+  console.error(err.stack);
+  res.status(500).json({ message: 'Something went wrong' });
+});
+
+// Database Connection + Optional Seed + Sync + Server Start
 mongoose
   .connect(process.env.MONGO_URI, {
     useNewUrlParser: true,
     useUnifiedTopology: true,
   })
   .then(async () => {
-    console.log('MongoDB Connected');
+    console.log('✅ MongoDB Connected');
 
-    // 1. Seed the database
-    try {
-      await seedDB();
-      console.log('🪴 Database seeded');
-    } catch (err) {
-      console.error('❌ Seeding error:', err);
+    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
+      try {
+        await seedDB();
+        console.log('🪴 Database seeded');
+      } catch (err) {
+        console.error('❌ Seeding error:', err);
+      }
     }
 
-    // 2. Sync with Weaviate
     try {
       await syncWeaviate();
       console.log('✅ Weaviate synced');
@@ -39,9 +96,8 @@ mongoose
       console.error('❌ Weaviate sync error:', err);
     }
 
-    // 3. Start Express server
     app.listen(PORT, '0.0.0.0', () => {
-      console.log(`Server ready on port ${PORT}.`);
+      console.log(`🚀 Server ready on port ${PORT}`);
     });
   })
   .catch(err => {
@@ -49,24 +105,4 @@ mongoose
     process.exit(1);
   });
 
-// Middleware
-app.use(cors());
-app.use(express.json());
-app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
-
-// Redirect root to /api-docs
-app.get('/', (req, res) => {
-  res.redirect('/api-docs');
-});
-
-// Setup Swagger UI with customized title
-setupSwaggerJson(app); // serves /api-docs/swagger.json
-setupSwaggerUi(app);
-
-// Routes
-app.use('/api/products', productRoutes);
-app.use('/api/checkout', checkoutRoutes);
-app.use('/api/search', require('./routes/search'));
-app.use('/api/auth', authRoutes);
-
 module.exports = app;