diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 251e364..61cb70e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS=" > .env
 - `CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME`, `CLOUDINARY_KEY`, and `CLOUDINARY_SECRET` are the credentials for your Cloudinary account.
   - You can create a free account [here](https://cloudinary.com/users/register/free).
 - `CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET` is the secret used to sign the confirmation token used for email confirmation.
-  - You can generate a random string using the`openssl rand -hex 32` command.
+  - You can generate a random string using the`openssl rand -base64 127` command.
 - `SESSION_SECRET` is the secret used to sign the session cookie.
   - Use the same command as above to generate a random string.
 - `DATABASE_URL` is the URL of your CockroachDB database.
@@ -118,10 +118,10 @@ npm run dev
 
 The Biergarten App is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. This means that anyone is free to use, modify, and distribute the code as long as they also distribute their modifications under the same license.
 
-I encourage anyone who uses this code for educational purposes to attribute the original author (i.e. me) and provide a link to the original repository.
+I encourage anyone who uses this code for educational purposes to attribute me as the original author, and to provide a link to this repository.
 
 By contributing to this repository, you agree to license your contributions under the same license as the project.
 
-If you have any questions or concerns about the license, please feel free to reach out to me..
+If you have any questions or concerns about the license, please feel free to submit an issue to this repository.
 
 I hope that this project will be useful to other developers and beer enthusiasts who are interested in learning about web development with Next.js, Prisma, CockroachDB, and other technologies.
diff --git a/components/BeerById/BeerPostCommentsPaginationBar.tsx b/components/BeerById/BeerPostCommentsPaginationBar.tsx
index 1925357..7bfa8bb 100644
--- a/components/BeerById/BeerPostCommentsPaginationBar.tsx
+++ b/components/BeerById/BeerPostCommentsPaginationBar.tsx
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ const BeerCommentsPaginationBar: FC<BeerCommentsPaginationBarProps> = ({
   <div className="flex items-center justify-center" id="comments-pagination">
     <div className="btn-group">
       <Link
-        className={`btn btn-ghost ${
+        className={`btn-ghost btn ${
           commentsPageNum === 1
             ? 'btn-disabled pointer-events-none'
             : 'pointer-events-auto'
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ const BeerCommentsPaginationBar: FC<BeerCommentsPaginationBarProps> = ({
       >
         <FaArrowLeft />
       </Link>
-      <button className="btn btn-ghost pointer-events-none">{commentsPageNum}</button>
+      <button className="btn-ghost btn pointer-events-none">{commentsPageNum}</button>
       <Link
-        className={`btn btn-ghost ${
+        className={`btn-ghost btn ${
           commentsPageNum === commentsPageCount
             ? 'btn-disabled pointer-events-none'
             : 'pointer-events-auto'
diff --git a/components/EditBeerPostForm.tsx b/components/EditBeerPostForm.tsx
index ef462ae..491ae53 100644
--- a/components/EditBeerPostForm.tsx
+++ b/components/EditBeerPostForm.tsx
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ const EditBeerPostForm: FC<EditBeerPostFormProps> = ({ previousValues }) => {
           {isSubmitting ? 'Submitting...' : 'Submit'}
         </Button>
         <button
-          className={`btn btn-primary w-full rounded-xl ${isSubmitting ? 'loading' : ''}`}
+          className={`btn-primary btn w-full rounded-xl ${isSubmitting ? 'loading' : ''}`}
           type="button"
           onClick={onDelete}
         >
diff --git a/components/ui/Navbar.tsx b/components/ui/Navbar.tsx
index 4803717..a75639f 100644
--- a/components/ui/Navbar.tsx
+++ b/components/ui/Navbar.tsx
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ const Navbar = () => {
   return (
     <nav className="navbar bg-primary text-primary-content">
       <div className="flex-1">
-        <Link className="btn btn-ghost text-3xl normal-case" href="/">
+        <Link className="btn-ghost btn text-3xl normal-case" href="/">
           <span className="cursor-pointer text-xl font-bold">The Biergarten App</span>
         </Link>
       </div>
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ const Navbar = () => {
       </div>
       <div className="flex-none lg:hidden">
         <div className="dropdown dropdown-end">
-          <label tabIndex={0} className="btn btn-ghost btn-circle">
+          <label tabIndex={0} className="btn-ghost btn-circle btn">
             <span className="w-10 rounded-full">
               <svg
                 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
diff --git a/components/ui/alerts/ErrorAlert.tsx b/components/ui/alerts/ErrorAlert.tsx
index 617f1de..47049d2 100644
--- a/components/ui/alerts/ErrorAlert.tsx
+++ b/components/ui/alerts/ErrorAlert.tsx
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ const ErrorAlert: FC<ErrorAlertProps> = ({ error, setError }) => {
 
       <div className="flex-none">
         <button
-          className="btn btn-ghost btn-sm"
+          className="btn-ghost btn-sm btn"
           type="button"
           onClick={() => {
             setError('');
diff --git a/components/ui/forms/Button.tsx b/components/ui/forms/Button.tsx
index 242b5e3..8072faa 100644
--- a/components/ui/forms/Button.tsx
+++ b/components/ui/forms/Button.tsx
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ const Button: FunctionComponent<FormButtonProps> = ({
   // eslint-disable-next-line react/button-has-type
   <button
     type={type}
-    className={`btn btn-primary w-full rounded-xl ${isSubmitting ? 'loading' : ''}`}
+    className={`btn-primary btn w-full rounded-xl ${isSubmitting ? 'loading' : ''}`}
   >
     {children}
   </button>
diff --git a/components/ui/forms/FormPageLayout.tsx b/components/ui/forms/FormPageLayout.tsx
index c6e6013..4fef0c1 100644
--- a/components/ui/forms/FormPageLayout.tsx
+++ b/components/ui/forms/FormPageLayout.tsx
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ const FormPageLayout: FC<FormPageLayoutProps> = ({
     <div className="align-center my-20 flex h-fit flex-col items-center justify-center">
       <div className="w-8/12">
         <div className="tooltip tooltip-bottom absolute" data-tip={backLinkText}>
-          <Link href={backLink} className="btn btn-ghost btn-sm p-0">
+          <Link href={backLink} className="btn-ghost btn-sm btn p-0">
             <BiArrowBack className="text-xl" />
           </Link>
         </div>
diff --git a/config/auth/cookie.ts b/config/auth/cookie.ts
index 50ac928..c0397df 100644
--- a/config/auth/cookie.ts
+++ b/config/auth/cookie.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
 import { NextApiResponse } from 'next';
 import { serialize, parse } from 'cookie';
 import { SessionRequest } from './types';
-
-const TOKEN_NAME = 'token';
-export const MAX_AGE = 60 * 60 * 8; // 8 hours
+import { NODE_ENV, SESSION_MAX_AGE, SESSION_TOKEN_NAME } from '../env';
 
 export function setTokenCookie(res: NextApiResponse, token: string) {
-  const cookie = serialize(TOKEN_NAME, token, {
-    maxAge: MAX_AGE,
+  const cookie = serialize(SESSION_TOKEN_NAME, token, {
+    maxAge: SESSION_MAX_AGE,
     httpOnly: false,
-    secure: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
+    secure: NODE_ENV === 'production',
     path: '/',
     sameSite: 'lax',
   });
@@ -18,7 +16,7 @@ export function setTokenCookie(res: NextApiResponse, token: string) {
 }
 
 export function removeTokenCookie(res: NextApiResponse) {
-  const cookie = serialize(TOKEN_NAME, '', { maxAge: -1, path: '/' });
+  const cookie = serialize(SESSION_TOKEN_NAME, '', { maxAge: -1, path: '/' });
   res.setHeader('Set-Cookie', cookie);
 }
 
@@ -33,5 +31,5 @@ export function parseCookies(req: SessionRequest) {
 
 export function getTokenCookie(req: SessionRequest) {
   const cookies = parseCookies(req);
-  return cookies[TOKEN_NAME];
+  return cookies[SESSION_TOKEN_NAME];
 }
diff --git a/config/auth/session.ts b/config/auth/session.ts
index 91a2c4d..0371775 100644
--- a/config/auth/session.ts
+++ b/config/auth/session.ts
@@ -6,11 +6,10 @@ import {
   UserSessionSchema,
 } from '@/config/auth/types';
 import { z } from 'zod';
-import { MAX_AGE, setTokenCookie, getTokenCookie } from './cookie';
+import { SESSION_MAX_AGE, SESSION_SECRET } from '@/config/env';
+import { setTokenCookie, getTokenCookie } from './cookie';
 import ServerError from '../util/ServerError';
 
-const { SESSION_SECRET } = process.env;
-
 export async function setLoginSession(
   res: NextApiResponse,
   session: z.infer<typeof BasicUserInfoSchema>,
@@ -19,7 +18,7 @@ export async function setLoginSession(
     throw new ServerError('Authentication is not configured.', 500);
   }
   const createdAt = Date.now();
-  const obj = { ...session, createdAt, maxAge: MAX_AGE };
+  const obj = { ...session, createdAt, maxAge: SESSION_MAX_AGE };
   const token = await Iron.seal(obj, SESSION_SECRET, Iron.defaults);
 
   setTokenCookie(res, token);
diff --git a/config/cloudinary/index.ts b/config/cloudinary/index.ts
index 5954e23..655c9bb 100644
--- a/config/cloudinary/index.ts
+++ b/config/cloudinary/index.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,8 @@
 /* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/naming-convention */
 import { v2 as cloudinary } from 'cloudinary';
 import { CloudinaryStorage } from 'multer-storage-cloudinary';
-import ServerError from '../util/ServerError';
 
-const { CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME, CLOUDINARY_KEY, CLOUDINARY_SECRET } = process.env;
-
-if (!(CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME && CLOUDINARY_KEY && CLOUDINARY_SECRET)) {
-  throw new ServerError(
-    'The cloudinary credentials were not found in the environment variables.',
-    500,
-  );
-}
+import { CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME, CLOUDINARY_KEY, CLOUDINARY_SECRET } from '../env';
 
 cloudinary.config({
   cloud_name: CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME,
diff --git a/config/env/index.ts b/config/env/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78bbe66
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/env/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+/* eslint-disable prefer-destructuring */
+import { z } from 'zod';
+import { env } from 'process';
+import ServerError from '../util/ServerError';
+
+import 'dotenv/config';
+
+/**
+ * Environment variables are validated at runtime to ensure that they are present and have
+ * the correct type. This is done using the zod library.
+ */
+const envSchema = z.object({
+  BASE_URL: z.string().url(),
+  CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME: z.string(),
+  CLOUDINARY_KEY: z.string(),
+  CLOUDINARY_SECRET: z.string(),
+  CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET: z.string(),
+  SESSION_SECRET: z.string(),
+  SESSION_TOKEN_NAME: z.string(),
+  SESSION_MAX_AGE: z.coerce.number().positive(),
+  DATABASE_URL: z.string().url(),
+  NODE_ENV: z.enum(['development', 'production', 'test']),
+  SPARKPOST_API_KEY: z.string(),
+  SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS: z.string().email(),
+});
+
+const parsed = envSchema.safeParse(env);
+
+if (!parsed.success) {
+  throw new ServerError('Invalid environment variables', 500);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Base URL of the application.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'https://example.com';
+ */
+export const BASE_URL = parsed.data.BASE_URL;
+
+/**
+ * Cloudinary cloud name.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'my-cloud';
+ *
+ * @see https://cloudinary.com/documentation/cloudinary_references
+ * @see https://cloudinary.com/console
+ */
+
+export const CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME = parsed.data.CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME;
+
+/**
+ * Cloudinary API key.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   '123456789012345';
+ *
+ * @see https://cloudinary.com/documentation/cloudinary_references
+ * @see https://cloudinary.com/console
+ */
+export const CLOUDINARY_KEY = parsed.data.CLOUDINARY_KEY;
+
+/**
+ * Cloudinary API secret.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456';
+ *
+ * @see https://cloudinary.com/documentation/cloudinary_references
+ * @see https://cloudinary.com/console
+ */
+export const CLOUDINARY_SECRET = parsed.data.CLOUDINARY_SECRET;
+
+/**
+ * Secret key for signing confirmation tokens.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456';
+ *
+ * @see README.md for instructions on generating a secret key.
+ */
+export const CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET = parsed.data.CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET;
+
+/**
+ * Secret key for signing session cookies.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456';
+ *
+ * @see README.md for instructions on generating a secret key.
+ */
+export const SESSION_SECRET = parsed.data.SESSION_SECRET;
+
+/**
+ * Name of the session cookie.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'my-app-session';
+ */
+export const SESSION_TOKEN_NAME = parsed.data.SESSION_TOKEN_NAME;
+
+/**
+ * Maximum age of the session cookie in milliseconds.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   '86400000'; // 24 hours
+ */
+export const SESSION_MAX_AGE = parsed.data.SESSION_MAX_AGE;
+
+/**
+ * URL of the CockroachDB database. CockroachDB uses the PostgreSQL wire protocol.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'postgres://username:password@localhost/my-database';
+ */
+export const DATABASE_URL = parsed.data.DATABASE_URL;
+
+/**
+ * Node environment.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'production';
+ *
+ * @see https://nodejs.org/api/process.html#process_process_env
+ */
+export const NODE_ENV = parsed.data.NODE_ENV;
+
+/**
+ * SparkPost API key.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456';
+ *
+ * @see https://app.sparkpost.com/account/api-keys
+ */
+export const SPARKPOST_API_KEY = parsed.data.SPARKPOST_API_KEY;
+
+/**
+ * Sender email address for SparkPost.
+ *
+ * @example
+ *   'noreply@example.com';
+ *
+ * @see https://app.sparkpost.com/domains/list/sending
+ */
+export const SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS = parsed.data.SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS;
diff --git a/config/jwt/index.ts b/config/jwt/index.ts
index 8fadf91..54a659f 100644
--- a/config/jwt/index.ts
+++ b/config/jwt/index.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,7 @@
 import { BasicUserInfoSchema } from '@/config/auth/types';
 import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
 import { z } from 'zod';
-
-const { CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET } = process.env;
-
-if (!CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET) {
-  throw new Error('CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET is not defined');
-}
+import { CONFIRMATION_TOKEN_SECRET } from '../env';
 
 type User = z.infer<typeof BasicUserInfoSchema>;
 
diff --git a/config/nextConnect/NextConnectOptions.ts b/config/nextConnect/NextConnectOptions.ts
index a72c300..ad3ef91 100644
--- a/config/nextConnect/NextConnectOptions.ts
+++ b/config/nextConnect/NextConnectOptions.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { z } from 'zod';
 import logger from '../pino/logger';
 
 import ServerError from '../util/ServerError';
+import { NODE_ENV } from '../env';
 
 type NextConnectOptionsT = HandlerOptions<
   RequestHandler<
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ const NextConnectOptions: NextConnectOptionsT = {
     });
   },
   onError(error, req, res) {
-    if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+    if (NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
       logger.error(error);
     }
 
diff --git a/config/sparkpost/client.ts b/config/sparkpost/client.ts
index aaa4bec..2e1c426 100644
--- a/config/sparkpost/client.ts
+++ b/config/sparkpost/client.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,5 @@
 import SparkPost from 'sparkpost';
-
-const { SPARKPOST_API_KEY } = process.env;
-
-if (!SPARKPOST_API_KEY) {
-  throw new Error('SPARKPOST_API_KEY is not defined');
-}
+import { SPARKPOST_API_KEY } from '../env';
 
 const client = new SparkPost(SPARKPOST_API_KEY);
 
diff --git a/config/sparkpost/sendEmail.ts b/config/sparkpost/sendEmail.ts
index 00218eb..78c1f9d 100644
--- a/config/sparkpost/sendEmail.ts
+++ b/config/sparkpost/sendEmail.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS } from '../env';
 import client from './client';
 
 interface EmailParams {
@@ -7,12 +8,6 @@ interface EmailParams {
   subject: string;
 }
 
-const { SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS } = process.env;
-
-if (!SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS) {
-  throw new Error('SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS env variable is not set.');
-}
-
 const sendEmail = async ({ address, text, html, subject }: EmailParams) => {
   const from = SPARKPOST_SENDER_ADDRESS;
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index d2057b5..8d970dd 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
         "cloudinary": "^1.35.0",
         "cookie": "^0.5.0",
         "date-fns": "^2.29.3",
+        "dotenv": "^16.0.3",
         "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.0",
         "lodash": "^4.17.21",
         "multer": "^2.0.0-rc.4",
@@ -3355,7 +3356,6 @@
       "version": "16.0.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dotenv/-/dotenv-16.0.3.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-7GO6HghkA5fYG9TYnNxi14/7K9f5occMlp3zXAuSxn7CKCxt9xbNWG7yF8hTCSUchlfWSe3uLmlPfigevRItzQ==",
-      "dev": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       }
@@ -12414,8 +12414,7 @@
     "dotenv": {
       "version": "16.0.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dotenv/-/dotenv-16.0.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-7GO6HghkA5fYG9TYnNxi14/7K9f5occMlp3zXAuSxn7CKCxt9xbNWG7yF8hTCSUchlfWSe3uLmlPfigevRItzQ==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-7GO6HghkA5fYG9TYnNxi14/7K9f5occMlp3zXAuSxn7CKCxt9xbNWG7yF8hTCSUchlfWSe3uLmlPfigevRItzQ=="
     },
     "dotenv-cli": {
       "version": "7.1.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 05c3f1c..5efb564 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
     "start": "next start",
     "lint": "next lint",
     "format": "npx prettier . --write",
-    "prestart": "npm run build",
     "seed": "npx ts-node ./prisma/seed/index.ts"
   },
   "dependencies": {
@@ -22,6 +21,7 @@
     "cloudinary": "^1.35.0",
     "cookie": "^0.5.0",
     "date-fns": "^2.29.3",
+    "dotenv": "^16.0.3",
     "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.0",
     "lodash": "^4.17.21",
     "multer": "^2.0.0-rc.4",
diff --git a/pages/beers/[id]/index.tsx b/pages/beers/[id]/index.tsx
index 9fcd191..877f50f 100644
--- a/pages/beers/[id]/index.tsx
+++ b/pages/beers/[id]/index.tsx
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ const BeerByIdPage: NextPage<BeerPageProps> = ({ beerPost, beerRecommendations }
         <div className="my-12 flex w-full items-center justify-center ">
           <div className="w-11/12 space-y-3 xl:w-9/12">
             <BeerInfoHeader beerPost={beerPost} />
-            <div className="mt-4 flex flex-col space-y-3 md:flex-row md:space-y-0 md:space-x-3">
+            <div className="mt-4 flex flex-col space-y-3 md:flex-row md:space-x-3 md:space-y-0">
               <BeerPostCommentsSection beerPost={beerPost} />
               <div className="md:w-[40%]">
                 <BeerRecommendations beerRecommendations={beerRecommendations} />
diff --git a/prisma/DBClient.ts b/prisma/DBClient.ts
index 4192a37..182477d 100644
--- a/prisma/DBClient.ts
+++ b/prisma/DBClient.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { NODE_ENV } from '@/config/env';
 import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';
 
 const globalForPrisma = global as unknown as { prisma: PrismaClient };
@@ -10,7 +11,7 @@ const DBClient = {
     }),
 };
 
-if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
+if (NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
   globalForPrisma.prisma = DBClient.instance;
 }
 
diff --git a/services/User/sendConfirmationEmail.ts b/services/User/sendConfirmationEmail.ts
index 4fbd717..c45bc1a 100644
--- a/services/User/sendConfirmationEmail.ts
+++ b/services/User/sendConfirmationEmail.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,12 @@
 import { generateConfirmationToken } from '@/config/jwt';
 import sendEmail from '@/config/sparkpost/sendEmail';
 
-import ServerError from '@/config/util/ServerError';
 import Welcome from '@/emails/Welcome';
 import { render } from '@react-email/render';
 import { z } from 'zod';
+import { BASE_URL } from '@/config/env';
 import GetUserSchema from './schema/GetUserSchema';
 
-const { BASE_URL } = process.env;
-
-if (!BASE_URL) {
-  throw new ServerError('BASE_URL env variable is not set.', 500);
-}
-
 type UserSchema = z.infer<typeof GetUserSchema>;
 
 const sendConfirmationEmail = async ({ id, username, email }: UserSchema) => {
diff --git a/tailwind.config.js b/tailwind.config.js
index 06228bf..fe63a71 100644
--- a/tailwind.config.js
+++ b/tailwind.config.js
@@ -9,10 +9,7 @@ module.exports = {
   theme: {
     extend: {},
   },
-  plugins: [
-    require('daisyui'), 
-    require('tailwindcss-animate')
-  ],
+  plugins: [require('daisyui'), require('tailwindcss-animate')],
 
   daisyui: {
     logs: false,