diff --git a/.htaccess b/.htaccess
index 1283c6e..e69de29 100644
--- a/.htaccess
+++ b/.htaccess
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-RewriteEngine On
-RewriteRule ^test_redirect$ /index.php [R=302,L]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/includes/ImageProcessor.php b/includes/ImageProcessor.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..00cffea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/ImageProcessor.php
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+<?php
+
+class ImageProcessor {
+    private static $uploadDir = 'assets/images/uploads/';
+    private static $maxWidth = 400; // Default max width for thumbnails
+
+    /**
+     * Handles the uploaded image, moves it to the upload directory, and resizes it.
+     *
+     * @param array $file The $_FILES array entry for the uploaded file.
+     * @return string|false The path to the saved thumbnail or false on error.
+     */
+    public static function processAndSaveImage(array $file) {
+        if (!isset($file['tmp_name']) || $file['error'] !== UPLOAD_ERR_OK) {
+            return false; // No file uploaded or an error occurred
+        }
+
+        // Validate file type
+        $allowedTypes = ['image/jpeg', 'image/png', 'image/gif'];
+        if (!in_array($file['type'], $allowedTypes)) {
+            return false; // Invalid file type
+        }
+
+        // Ensure upload directory exists
+        if (!is_dir(self::$uploadDir)) {
+            mkdir(self::$uploadDir, 0775, true);
+        }
+
+        // Generate a unique file name
+        $extension = pathinfo($file['name'], PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
+        $fileName = uniqid('thumbnail_') . '.' . $extension;
+        $targetPath = self::$uploadDir . $fileName;
+
+        // Move the uploaded file
+        if (!move_uploaded_file($file['tmp_name'], $targetPath)) {
+            return false; // Failed to move uploaded file
+        }
+
+        // Resize image
+        if (!self::resizeImage($targetPath, $file['type'])) {
+            // If resizing fails, you might want to delete the original uploaded file
+            unlink($targetPath);
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        return $targetPath; // Return the path to the saved and resized image
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Resizes an image to a maximum width, maintaining aspect ratio.
+     *
+     * @param string $imagePath The path to the image file.
+     * @param string $mimeType The MIME type of the image.
+     * @return bool True on success, false on failure.
+     */
+    private static function resizeImage(string $imagePath, string $mimeType) {
+        list($width, $height) = getimagesize($imagePath);
+
+        if ($width <= self::$maxWidth) {
+            return true; // No resizing needed
+        }
+
+        $newWidth = self::$maxWidth;
+        $newHeight = (int) (self::$maxWidth * ($height / $width));
+
+        $image = null;
+        switch ($mimeType) {
+            case 'image/jpeg':
+                $image = imagecreatefromjpeg($imagePath);
+                break;
+            case 'image/png':
+                $image = imagecreatefrompng($imagePath);
+                break;
+            case 'image/gif':
+                $image = imagecreatefromgif($imagePath);
+                break;
+            default:
+                return false; // Unsupported image type for resizing
+        }
+
+        if (!$image) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        $resizedImage = imagecreatetruecolor($newWidth, $newHeight);
+
+        // Preserve transparency for PNG and GIF
+        if ($mimeType == 'image/png') {
+            imagealphablending($resizedImage, false);
+            imagesavealpha($resizedImage, true);
+            $transparent = imagecolorallocatealpha($resizedImage, 255, 255, 255, 127);
+            imagefilledrectangle($resizedImage, 0, 0, $newWidth, $newHeight, $transparent);
+        } elseif ($mimeType == 'image/gif') {
+            $trnprt_indx = imagecolortransparent($image);
+            if ($trnprt_indx >= 0) {
+                // Get the transparent color from the original image
+                $trnprt_color = imagecolorsforindex($image, $trnprt_indx);
+                // Allocate the same color in the new image
+                $trnprt_indx = imagecolorallocate($resizedImage, $trnprt_color['red'], $trnprt_color['green'], $trnprt_color['blue']);
+                imagefill($resizedImage, 0, 0, $trnprt_indx);
+                imagecolortransparent($resizedImage, $trnprt_indx);
+            }
+        }
+
+        imagecopyresampled($resizedImage, $image, 0, 0, 0, 0, $newWidth, $newHeight, $width, $height);
+
+        $success = false;
+        switch ($mimeType) {
+            case 'image/jpeg':
+                $success = imagejpeg($resizedImage, $imagePath, 90); // 90% quality
+                break;
+            case 'image/png':
+                $success = imagepng($resizedImage, $imagePath);
+                break;
+            case 'image/gif':
+                $success = imagegif($resizedImage, $imagePath);
+                break;
+        }
+
+        imagedestroy($image);
+        imagedestroy($resizedImage);
+
+        return $success;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index 7ef7f17..13dec30 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -25,25 +25,6 @@
 
 </head>
 <body>
-<?php
-$debug_current_category_id = $current_category_id ?? "NULL";
-$debug_current_category_name = $current_category_name ?? "Not Set";
-$debug_current_links_count = isset($current_links) ? count($current_links) : 0;
-$debug_sql_query = "SQL Query not set yet.";
-if (isset($link_stmt) && $link_stmt instanceof PDOStatement) {
-    $debug_sql_query = $link_stmt->queryString;
-}
-?>
-    <pre style="background-color: #fdd; border: 1px solid #f99; padding: 10px; margin: 10px;">
-        DEBUG INFORMATION:
-        GET Parameters: <?php echo htmlspecialchars(json_encode($_GET, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)); ?>
-        Current Category ID: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($debug_current_category_id); ?>
-        Current Category Name: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($debug_current_category_name); ?>
-        Current Links Count: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($debug_current_links_count); ?>
-        Raw Query String: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] ?? 'Not Set'); ?>
-        SQL Query for links: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($debug_sql_query); ?>
-    </pre>
-
 <?php
 require_once __DIR__ . '/db/config.php';
 
@@ -71,9 +52,9 @@ if (isset($_GET['category']) && filter_var($_GET['category'], FILTER_VALIDATE_IN
 $link_stmt = null;
 if ($current_category_id) {
     $link_stmt = $pdo->prepare(
-        "SELECT l.*, s.name as subcategory_name FROM links l " . 
-        "JOIN subcategories s ON l.subcategory_id = s.id " . 
-        "WHERE s.category_id = ? AND l.status = \'approved\' ORDER BY s.name ASC, l.created_at DESC"
+        "SELECT l.*, s.name as subcategory_name FROM links l " .
+        "JOIN subcategories s ON l.subcategory_id = s.id " .
+        "WHERE s.category_id = ? AND l.status = 'approved' ORDER BY s.name ASC, l.created_at DESC"
     );
     $link_stmt->execute([$current_category_id]);
 } else {
@@ -87,7 +68,16 @@ if ($current_category_id) {
     );
 }
 $current_links = $link_stmt->fetchAll();
-
+?>
+    <pre style="background-color: #fdd; border: 1px solid #f99; padding: 10px; margin: 10px;">
+        DEBUG INFORMATION:
+        GET Parameters: <?php echo htmlspecialchars(json_encode($_GET, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT)); ?>
+        Current Category ID: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($current_category_id ?? "NULL"); ?>
+        Current Category Name: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($current_category_name ?? "Not Set"); ?>
+        Current Links Count: <?php echo htmlspecialchars(isset($current_links) ? count($current_links) : 0); ?>
+        Raw Query String: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] ?? 'Not Set'); ?>
+        SQL Query for links: <?php echo htmlspecialchars($link_stmt->queryString ?? "SQL Query not set yet."); ?>
+    </pre>
 
 
 
diff --git a/submit.php b/submit.php
index aae7963..4f91207 100644
--- a/submit.php
+++ b/submit.php
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <?php
 session_start();
 require_once __DIR__ . '/db/config.php';
+require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/ImageProcessor.php';
 
 if (!isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
     header("Location: login.php");
@@ -39,6 +40,15 @@ if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
         // For now, thumbnail is not implemented
         $thumbnail_url = null; 
 
+        if (isset($_FILES['thumbnail']) && $_FILES['thumbnail']['error'] === UPLOAD_ERR_OK) {
+            $uploadedImagePath = ImageProcessor::processAndSaveImage($_FILES['thumbnail']);
+            if ($uploadedImagePath) {
+                $thumbnail_url = $uploadedImagePath;
+            } else {
+                $errors[] = 'Failed to process uploaded image. Please ensure it is a valid image file (JPEG, PNG, GIF).';
+            }
+        }
+
         try {
             $stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO links (user_id, subcategory_id, title, url, description, thumbnail_url, status) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)");
             $stmt->execute([$_SESSION['user_id'], $subcategory_id, $title, $url, $description, $thumbnail_url, $status]);
@@ -90,7 +100,7 @@ if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
                         <p class="mb-0">Thank you for your submission! It will be reviewed shortly.</p>
                     </div>
                 <?php else: ?>
-                    <form action="submit.php" method="POST">
+                    <form action="submit.php" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
                         <div class="mb-3">
                             <label for="title" class="form-label">Title</label>
                             <input type="text" class="form-control" id="title" name="title" required>
@@ -123,6 +133,9 @@ if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
                             <label for="description" class="form-label">Description</label>
                             <textarea class="form-control" id="description" name="description" rows="3"></textarea>
                         </div>
+                        <div class="mb-3">
+                            <label for="thumbnail" class="form-label">Image (optional)</label>
+                            <input type="file" class="form-control" id="thumbnail" name="thumbnail" accept="image/*">
                         <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Submit Link</button>
                     </form>
                 <?php endif; ?>