diff --git a/.env b/.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..694ad76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+VITE_BACKEND_URL=http://localhost:7000
+VITE_INSTANCE_URL=http://localhost:5173
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/env.d.ts b/env.d.ts
index 11f02fe..5a8edb6 100644
--- a/env.d.ts
+++ b/env.d.ts
@@ -1 +1,11 @@
 /// <reference types="vite/client" />
+
+interface ImportMetaEnv {
+    readonly VITE_BACKEND_URL: string
+    readonly VITE_INSTANCE_URL: string
+    // more env variables...
+  }
+  
+  interface ImportMeta {
+    readonly env: ImportMetaEnv
+  }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 9d61b64..4a24e1d 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@dragongoose/streamlink": "^1.0.2",
+    "@tailwindcss/forms": "^0.5.3",
     "oh-vue-icons": "^1.0.0-rc3",
     "video.js": "^8.0.4",
     "videojs-contrib-quality-levels": "^3.0.0",
@@ -25,9 +26,9 @@
     "@rushstack/eslint-patch": "^1.2.0",
     "@tailwindcss/typography": "^0.5.9",
     "@types/node": "^18.14.2",
+    "@types/video.js": "^7.3.51",
     "@types/videojs-contrib-quality-levels": "^2.0.1",
     "@types/videojs-hls-quality-selector": "^1.1.0",
-    "@types/video.js": "^7.3.51",
     "@vitejs/plugin-vue": "^4.0.0",
     "@vue/eslint-config-prettier": "^7.1.0",
     "@vue/eslint-config-typescript": "^11.0.2",
diff --git a/src/components/ErrorMessage.vue b/src/components/ErrorMessage.vue
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c68167e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/ErrorMessage.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+export default {
+  props: {
+    errMessage: {
+      type: Object,
+      default() {
+        {
+          ;('Error')
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  },
+
+  setup(props) {
+    return {
+      errorMessage: props.errMessage
+    }
+  }
+}
+</script>
+
+<template>
+  <div
+    class="flex flex-col max-w-prose justify-center text-center mx-auto p-6 bg-ctp-crust rounded-lg text-white"
+  >
+    <div class="mb-6">
+      <h1 class="font-bold text-5xl">oops...</h1>
+      <p class="font-bold text-3xl">this wasn't supposed to happen</p>
+    </div>
+
+    <p class="text-xl">
+      the server was encountered an error while retriving the data, and now we're here :3
+    </p>
+
+    <div class="mt-5">
+      <p class="text-xl">please contact the administrator with this code</p>
+      <p class="text-xl">error identifier: {{ errorMessage.code }}</p>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</template>
diff --git a/src/components/TwitchChat.vue b/src/components/TwitchChat.vue
index 4742c4f..15e354f 100644
--- a/src/components/TwitchChat.vue
+++ b/src/components/TwitchChat.vue
@@ -57,7 +57,9 @@ export default {
   <div v-if="isLive" class="p-3 bg-ctp-crust rounded-lg w-full max-w-[15.625rem] flex flex-col">
     <ul class="overflow-y-scroll h-[46.875rem]" ref="chatList">
       <li>
-        <p ref="initConnectingStatus" class="text-gray-500 text-sm italic"> Connecting to {{ channelName }}.</p>
+        <p ref="initConnectingStatus" class="text-gray-500 text-sm italic">
+          Connecting to {{ channelName }}.
+        </p>
       </li>
       <li v-for="message in getChat()" :key="messages.indexOf(message)">
         <div class="text-white inline-flex">
diff --git a/src/router/index.ts b/src/router/index.ts
index c08b1dd..87aaddd 100644
--- a/src/router/index.ts
+++ b/src/router/index.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import PageNotFound from '../views/PageNotFound.vue'
 import PrivacyPageView from '../views/PrivacyPageView.vue'
 import HomepageView from '../views/HomepageView.vue'
 import CategoryView from '../views/CategoryView.vue'
+import PreferencesView from '../views/PreferencesView.vue'
 
 const router = createRouter({
   history: createWebHistory(import.meta.env.BASE_URL),
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ const router = createRouter({
       component: HomepageView
     },
     {
-      path:'/game/:game',
+      path: '/game/:game',
       component: CategoryView
     },
     {
@@ -21,6 +22,10 @@ const router = createRouter({
       name: 'about',
       component: PrivacyPageView
     },
+    {
+      path: '/preferences',
+      component: PreferencesView
+    },
     {
       path: '/:username',
       component: UserView
diff --git a/src/views/CategoryView.vue b/src/views/CategoryView.vue
index ad34269..587f414 100644
--- a/src/views/CategoryView.vue
+++ b/src/views/CategoryView.vue
@@ -1,24 +1,28 @@
 <script lang="ts">
 import { useRoute } from 'vue-router'
 
-export default { 
+export default {
   async setup() {
     const route = useRoute()
     const game = route.params.game
-    const res = await fetch(`http://localhost:7000/api/discover/${game}`)
+    const res = await fetch(`${import.meta.env.VITE_BACKEND_URL}/api/discover/${game}`)
+    const data = await res.json()
+    console.log(import.meta.env)
 
+    let frontend_url = import.meta.env.VITE_INSTANCE_URL
     return {
-      data: await res.json()
+      data,
+      frontend_url
     }
   },
 
   methods: {
     abbreviate(text: number) {
-        return Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
-            //@ts-ignore
-            notation: "compact",
-            maximumFractionDigits: 1
-        }).format(text)
+      return Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
+        //@ts-ignore
+        notation: 'compact',
+        maximumFractionDigits: 1
+      }).format(text)
     }
   }
 }
@@ -27,54 +31,58 @@ export default {
 <template>
   <div class="flex flex-col max-w-5xl mx-auto">
     <div class="flex space-x-4 p-3">
-        <img :src="data.cover"  class="self-start rounded-md">
+      <img :src="data.cover" class="self-start rounded-md" />
 
-        <div>
-            <h1 class="font-bold text-5xl text-white">{{ data.name }}</h1>
-            <div class="inline-flex my-1 space-x-3">
-                <p class="font-bold text-white text-lg">Followers: {{ abbreviate(data.followers) }}</p>
-                <p class="font-bold text-white text-lg">Viewers: {{ abbreviate(data.viewers) }}</p>
-            </div>
-
-            <ul class="mb-5">
-                <li v-for="tag in data.tags" :key="tag" class="inline-flex">
-                    <span class="text-white p-1 py-0.5 mr-1 text-sm font-bold bg-ctp-overlay1 rounded-sm">{{ tag }}</span>
-                </li>
-            </ul>
-
-            <p class="text-md text-gray-400 overflow-y-auto">{{ data.description }}</p>
+      <div>
+        <h1 class="font-bold text-5xl text-white">{{ data.name }}</h1>
+        <div class="inline-flex my-1 space-x-3">
+          <p class="font-bold text-white text-lg">Followers: {{ abbreviate(data.followers) }}</p>
+          <p class="font-bold text-white text-lg">Viewers: {{ abbreviate(data.viewers) }}</p>
         </div>
 
+        <ul class="mb-5">
+          <li v-for="tag in data.tags" :key="tag" class="inline-flex">
+            <span class="text-white p-1 py-0.5 mr-1 text-sm font-bold bg-ctp-overlay1 rounded-sm">{{
+              tag
+            }}</span>
+          </li>
+        </ul>
+
+        <p class="text-md text-gray-400 overflow-y-auto">{{ data.description }}</p>
+      </div>
     </div>
 
     <div class="max-w-[58rem] mx-auto">
-        <ul>
-            <li v-for="stream in data.streams" :key="stream" class="inline-flex m-2 hover:scale-105 transition-transform">
-                <div class="bg-ctp-crust rounded-lg">
-                    <a :href="`http://localhost:5173/${stream.streamer.name}`">
-                        <img :src="stream.preview" class="rounded-lg rounded-b-none">
-                    </a>
+      <ul>
+        <li
+          v-for="stream in data.streams"
+          :key="stream"
+          class="inline-flex m-2 hover:scale-105 transition-transform"
+        >
+          <div class="bg-ctp-crust rounded-lg">
+            <a :href="`${frontend_url}/${stream.streamer.name}`">
+              <img :src="stream.preview" class="rounded-lg rounded-b-none" />
+            </a>
 
-                    <div class="text-white p-2 inline-flex space-x-2 w-full">
-                        
-                        
-                        <div class="inline-flex w-full">
-                            <div class="inline-flex">
-                                <img :src="stream.streamer.pfp" class="rounded-full mr-2">
-                                <div>
-                                    <p class="font-bold w-[22.9rem] truncate">{{ stream.title }}</p>
-                                    <div class="inline-flex w-full justify-between">
-                                        <p class="text-gray-300">{{ stream.streamer.name }}</p>
-                                        <p class="self-end float-right"> <v-icon name="io-person"></v-icon> {{ abbreviate(stream.viewers) }}</p>
-                                    </div>
-                                </div>
-                            </div>
-                        </div>
+            <div class="text-white p-2 inline-flex space-x-2 w-full">
+              <div class="inline-flex w-full">
+                <div class="inline-flex">
+                  <img :src="stream.streamer.pfp" class="rounded-full mr-2" />
+                  <div>
+                    <p class="font-bold w-[22.9rem] truncate">{{ stream.title }}</p>
+                    <div class="inline-flex w-full justify-between">
+                      <p class="text-gray-300">{{ stream.streamer.name }}</p>
+                      <p class="self-end float-right">
+                        <v-icon name="io-person"></v-icon> {{ abbreviate(stream.viewers) }}
+                      </p>
                     </div>
+                  </div>
                 </div>
-            </li>
-        </ul>
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </li>
+      </ul>
     </div>
-
   </div>
 </template>
diff --git a/src/views/HomepageView.vue b/src/views/HomepageView.vue
index 9f96606..0ea9526 100644
--- a/src/views/HomepageView.vue
+++ b/src/views/HomepageView.vue
@@ -1,21 +1,22 @@
 <script lang="ts">
-
-
 export default {
   async setup() {
-    const res = await fetch(`http://localhost:7000/api/discover`)
+    const res = await fetch(`${import.meta.env.VITE_BACKEND_URL}/api/discover`)
+    console.log(import.meta.env)
+    let frontend_url = import.meta.env.VITE_INSTANCE_URL
 
     return {
-      data: await res.json()
+      data: await res.json(),
+      frontend_url
     }
   },
   methods: {
     abbreviate(text: number) {
-        return Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
-            //@ts-ignore
-            notation: "compact",
-            maximumFractionDigits: 1
-        }).format(text)
+      return Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
+        //@ts-ignore
+        notation: 'compact',
+        maximumFractionDigits: 1
+      }).format(text)
     }
   }
 }
@@ -24,17 +25,14 @@ export default {
 <template>
   <div class="max-w-5xl mx-auto">
     <div class="p-2">
-      <h1 class="font-bold text-5xl text-white"> Discover </h1>
-      <p class="text-xl text-white"> Sort through popular categories</p>
+      <h1 class="font-bold text-5xl text-white">Discover</h1>
+      <p class="text-xl text-white">Sort through popular categories</p>
 
       <div class="pt-5 inline-flex text-white">
         <p class="mr-2 font-bold text-white">Filter by tag</p>
         <form class="relative">
           <label for="searchBar" class="hidden">Search</label>
-          <v-icon
-            name="io-search-outline"
-            class="absolute my-auto inset-y-0 left-2"
-          ></v-icon>
+          <v-icon name="io-search-outline" class="absolute my-auto inset-y-0 left-2"></v-icon>
           <input
             type="text"
             id="searchBar"
@@ -47,21 +45,28 @@ export default {
     </div>
 
     <ul class="">
-      <li v-for="category in data" :key="category" class="inline-flex m-2 hover:scale-105 transition-transform">
+      <li
+        v-for="category in data"
+        :key="category"
+        class="inline-flex m-2 hover:scale-105 transition-transform"
+      >
         <div class="bg-ctp-crust max-w-[13.5rem] rounded-lg">
-          <a :href="`http://localhost:5173/game/${category.name}`">
-            <img :src="category.image" class="rounded-lg rounded-b-none">
-          </a>
+          <router-link :to="`/game/${category.name}`">
+            <img :src="category.image" class="rounded-lg rounded-b-none" />
+          </router-link>
 
           <div class="p-2">
             <div>
-              <p class="font-bold text-white text-xl"> {{ category.displayName }}</p>
-              <p class="text-sm  text-white"> {{ abbreviate(category.viewers) }} viewers</p>
+              <p class="font-bold text-white text-xl">{{ category.displayName }}</p>
+              <p class="text-sm text-white">{{ abbreviate(category.viewers) }} viewers</p>
             </div>
 
             <ul class="h-8 overflow-hidden">
               <li v-for="tag in category.tags" :key="tag" class="inline-flex">
-                <span class="p-2.5 py-1.5 bg-ctp-surface0 rounded-md m-0.5 text-xs font-bold text-white">{{ tag }}</span>
+                <span
+                  class="p-2.5 py-1.5 bg-ctp-surface0 rounded-md m-0.5 text-xs font-bold text-white"
+                  >{{ tag }}</span
+                >
               </li>
             </ul>
           </div>
diff --git a/src/views/PreferencesView.vue b/src/views/PreferencesView.vue
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..24cb085
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/views/PreferencesView.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+export default {}
+</script>
+
+<template>
+  <div class="flex justify-center w-full">
+    <div class="flex flex-col w-[30rem] bg-ctp-mantle rounded-lg text-white p-5">
+      <ul class="overflow-y-auto inherit p-2 space-y-1">
+        <li>
+          <p class="font-bold text-2xl">Appearance</p>
+        </li>
+        <hr class="bg-gray-500 border-0 h-px" />
+        <li class="rounded-lg my-1">
+          <div class="flex items-center justify-between">
+            <label for="checkbox" class="text-lg">Compact View</label>
+            <input
+              type="checkbox"
+              class="w-5 h-5 mt-0.5 rounded focus:ring-ctp-pink bg-ctp-surface0 border-gray-700 checked:bg-ctp-pink checked:border-blue-500 focus:ring-offset-gray-800"
+              id="hs-default-checkbox"
+            />
+          </div>
+        </li>
+        <li class="rounded-lg my-1">
+          <div class="flex items-center justify-between">
+            <label for="checkbox" class="text-lg">Compact View</label>
+            <input
+              type="checkbox"
+              class="w-5 h-5 mt-0.5 rounded focus:ring-ctp-pink bg-ctp-surface0 border-gray-700 checked:bg-ctp-pink checked:border-blue-500 focus:ring-offset-gray-800"
+              id="hs-default-checkbox"
+            />
+          </div>
+        </li>
+
+        <li>
+          <p class="font-bold text-2xl mt-5">Content</p>
+        </li>
+        <hr class="bg-gray-500 border-0 h-px" />
+        <li class="rounded-lg my-1">
+          <div class="flex items-center justify-between">
+            <label for="checkbox" class="text-lg">Show mature streams</label>
+            <input
+              type="checkbox"
+              class="w-5 h-5 mt-0.5 rounded focus:ring-ctp-pink bg-ctp-surface0 border-gray-700 checked:bg-ctp-pink checked:border-blue-500 focus:ring-offset-gray-800"
+              id="hs-default-checkbox"
+            />
+          </div>
+        </li>
+        <li class="rounded-lg my-1">
+          <div class="flex items-center justify-between">
+            <label for="checkbox" class="text-lg">Show chat</label>
+            <input
+              type="checkbox"
+              class="w-5 h-5 mt-0.5 rounded focus:ring-ctp-pink bg-ctp-surface0 border-gray-700 checked:bg-ctp-pink checked:border-blue-500 focus:ring-offset-gray-800"
+              id="hs-default-checkbox"
+            />
+          </div>
+        </li>
+      </ul>
+
+      <div class="p-2 mt-5 space-y-1">
+        <p class="text-gray-400">
+          <strong class="text-white">Note:</strong> Settings, follows, and any other persistent data
+          is stored with cookies.
+        </p>
+        <button class="w-full bg-ctp-surface0 p-2 rounded-lg">Save</button>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</template>
diff --git a/src/views/UserView.vue b/src/views/UserView.vue
index b8bb289..2036740 100644
--- a/src/views/UserView.vue
+++ b/src/views/UserView.vue
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 <script lang="ts">
 import { ref, onMounted } from 'vue'
 import { useRoute } from 'vue-router'
-import type { StreamerData } from '../../../server/types/scraping/Streamer'
-import VideoPlayer from '../components/VideoPlayer.vue'
-import TwitchChat from '../components/TwitchChat.vue'
+import VideoPlayer from '@/components/VideoPlayer.vue'
+import TwitchChat from '@/components/TwitchChat.vue'
+import ErrorMessage from '@/components/ErrorMessage.vue'
 
 export default {
   async setup() {
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ export default {
     const username = route.params.username
 
     const getUser = async () => {
-      const res = await fetch(`http://localhost:7000/api/users/${username}`)
+      const res = await fetch(`${import.meta.env.VITE_BACKEND_URL}/api/users/${username}`)
 
       if (res.status !== 200) {
         const data = await res.json()
@@ -28,8 +28,10 @@ export default {
         }
       }
 
-      const data: StreamerData = await res.json()
-      data.pfp = `http://localhost:7000/proxy/img?imageUrl=${encodeURIComponent(data.pfp)}`
+      const data = await res.json()
+      data.pfp = `${import.meta.env.VITE_BACKEND_URL}/proxy/img?imageUrl=${encodeURIComponent(
+        data.pfp
+      )}`
       return data
     }
 
@@ -46,7 +48,7 @@ export default {
         controls: true,
         sources: [
           {
-            src: `http://localhost:7000/proxy/stream/${username}/hls.m3u8`,
+            src: `${import.meta.env.VITE_BACKEND_URL}/proxy/stream/${username}/hls.m3u8`,
             type: 'application/vnd.apple.mpegurl'
           }
         ],
@@ -56,7 +58,8 @@ export default {
   },
   components: {
     VideoPlayer,
-    TwitchChat
+    TwitchChat,
+    ErrorMessage
   },
   methods: {
     truncate(value: string, length: number) {
@@ -82,24 +85,7 @@ export default {
     </div>
   </div>
 
-  <div
-    v-else-if="data.status === 'error'"
-    class="flex flex-col max-w-prose justify-center text-center mx-auto p-6 bg-ctp-crust rounded-lg text-white"
-  >
-    <div class="mb-6">
-      <h1 class="font-bold text-5xl">oops...</h1>
-      <p class="font-bold text-3xl">this wasn't supposed to happen</p>
-    </div>
-
-    <p class="text-xl">
-      the server was encountered an error while retriving the data, and now we're here :3
-    </p>
-
-    <div class="mt-5">
-      <p class="text-xl">please contact the administrator with this code</p>
-      <p class="text-xl">error identifier: {{ data.code }}</p>
-    </div>
-  </div>
+  <error-message v-else-if="data.status === 'error'" :errMessage="data"></error-message>
 
   <div v-else class="w-full justify-center inline-flex space-x-4 p-4">
     <div class="flex bg-ctp-crust flex-col p-6 rounded-lg max-w-prose min-w-[65ch] text-white">
@@ -157,7 +143,7 @@ export default {
         </div>
 
         <div class="pt-2 pl- inline-flex">
-          <button class="text-white text-sm font-bold p-2 py-1 rounded-md  bg-purple-600">
+          <button class="text-white text-sm font-bold p-2 py-1 rounded-md bg-purple-600">
             <v-icon name="bi-heart-fill" scale="0.85"></v-icon>
             Follow
           </button>
diff --git a/tailwind.config.js b/tailwind.config.js
index dfcc254..f99f548 100644
--- a/tailwind.config.js
+++ b/tailwind.config.js
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@ module.exports = {
   plugins: [
     require('@catppuccin/tailwindcss')({
       prefix: 'ctp',
-      defaultFlavour: 'mocha',
+      defaultFlavour: 'mocha'
     }),
-    require('@tailwindcss/typography')
+    require('@tailwindcss/typography'),
+    require("@tailwindcss/forms") 
   ],
 }
\ No newline at end of file