diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c5e8aa32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+_site/
+.sass-cache/
+.jekyll-metadata
+.git/
+.idea/
+*.iml
+.DS_Store
+vendor/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3f0a3843
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+FROM ruby:3.2-slim
+ 
+# Install build dependencies required by native gem extensions (e.g., nokogiri)
+# and libcurl for htmlproofer link checking
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+      build-essential \
+      git \
+      libcurl4-openssl-dev \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+ 
+WORKDIR /site
+ 
+# Install gems first (layer caching - only re-runs when Gemfile changes)
+COPY Gemfile Gemfile.lock ./
+RUN bundle install
+ 
+# Copy the rest of the site
+COPY . .
+ 
+EXPOSE 4000
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e26d2eca..18ce5c5a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,7 +7,40 @@ an open source course management, assignment submission, exam, and grading syste
 To report issues for this repository, please file them under the
 [Submitty/Submitty](https://github.com/Submitty/Submitty) repository.
 
-## Local Development
+## Local Development with Docker (Recommended)
+
+If you have [Docker](https://www.docker.com/) installed, you do not need to install Ruby or Bundler locally.
+
+### Setup
+
+1. Clone the repository:
+   ```bash
+   git clone https://github.com/Submitty/submitty.github.io.git
+   cd submitty.github.io
+   ```
+2. Start the development container:
+   ```bash
+   docker compose up
+   ```
+   The first run will take a few minutes to install dependencies.
+
+3. Visit [http://localhost:4000](http://localhost:4000) to view the site.
+   Changes to files will automatically trigger a rebuild and refresh your
+   browser.
+
+4. To stop the development container, press `Ctrl+C` or run:
+   ```bash
+   docker compose down
+   ```
+### Running the link checker
+
+```bash
+docker compose exec site bundle exec jekyll build
+docker compose exec site bundle exec htmlproofer ./_site --assume-extension --empty-alt-ignore --disable_external
+```
+Alternatively, you can develop the site with Ruby and Bundler installed locally. See the instructions below for more information.
+
+## Local Development with Ruby
 
 ### Prerequisites
 
@@ -22,7 +55,7 @@ for example, this would be accomplished by doing `sudo apt-get install ruby-dev`
 
 ### Setup
 
-1. Clone the respository on your local machine, e.g.,
+1. Clone the repository on your local machine, e.g.,
 
    ```
    git clone https://github.com/Submitty/submitty.github.io.git
@@ -129,11 +162,11 @@ above structure. Currently, the site only supports three levels of nesting (sub-
 ## Forked from [Edition](https://github.com/CloudCannon/edition-jekyll-template)
 
 This repository was created via a fork of Edition, which is a product documentation theme for Jekyll created
-by by [CloudCannon](http://cloudcannon.com/), the Cloud CMS for Jekyll.
+by [CloudCannon](http://cloudcannon.com/), the Cloud CMS for Jekyll.
 
 
 
 ### Ruby Version Troubleshooting
 
 In February 2024:
-* https://ritviknag.com/tech-tips/ruby-versioning-hell-with-jekyll-&-github-pages/
\ No newline at end of file
+* https://ritviknag.com/tech-tips/ruby-versioning-hell-with-jekyll-&-github-pages/
diff --git a/_config_docker.yml b/_config_docker.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8822b612
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config_docker.yml
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+url: "http://localhost:4000"
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..837ad008
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+services:
+  site:
+    build: .
+    ports:
+      - "4000:4000"
+      - "35729:35729"
+    volumes:
+      - .:/site
+      - bundle_cache:/usr/local/bundle
+    environment:
+      - JEKYLL_ENV=docker
+    command: bundle exec jekyll serve --host 0.0.0.0 --livereload --force_polling --config _config.yml,_config_docker.yml
+
+volumes:
+  bundle_cache: