diff --git a/api/static-site.ts b/api/static-site.ts
index 41ae6e3..160a4c5 100644
--- a/api/static-site.ts
+++ b/api/static-site.ts
@@ -306,7 +306,16 @@ const NGINX_CONF = `server {
 
   location / {
     # The build writes about/index.html, so a directory match is what serves /about.
-    try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
+    #
+    # $uri/index.html BEFORE $uri/, and the order is the whole point. A $uri/ match is a directory
+    # and nginx answers it with a 301 that appends the slash — so /gallery/aldi/65 cost a redirect
+    # before anything on the page could start. Every internal link on this site is the bare form (the
+    # thumbnails, the lightbox, the chevrons), so every navigation paid it: 78 ms on the critical path,
+    # measured, on the first request of every page.
+    #
+    # Naming index.html first serves the file at the address that was asked for. Both forms still work
+    # and neither redirects; $uri/ stays after it for a directory that has no index.
+    try_files $uri $uri/index.html $uri/ =404;
     add_header Cache-Control "no-cache";
   }
 }