diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d9c46cded..052304a10 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -9,3 +9,7 @@
 /.DS_Store
 __pycache__/
 /FrontEnd/node_modules
+
+public/*
+!public/media/.gitkeep
+!public/static/.gitkeep
diff --git a/forum/settings.py b/forum/settings.py
index a77ab13fe..4bf1fd08c 100644
--- a/forum/settings.py
+++ b/forum/settings.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 For the full list of settings and their values, see
 https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.1/ref/settings/
 """
+import os
 from datetime import timedelta
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -147,7 +148,12 @@
 # Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images)
 # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.1/howto/static-files/
 
-STATIC_URL = 'static/'
+STATIC_URL = '/static/'
+STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'public', 'static')
+
+MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
+MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'public', 'media')
+
 
 # Default primary key field type
 # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.1/ref/settings/#default-auto-field
diff --git a/public/media/.gitkeep b/public/media/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/public/static/.gitkeep b/public/static/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb