diff --git a/frontend/src/services/api.js b/frontend/src/services/api.js
index ace98a8..65d297e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/api.js
+++ b/frontend/src/services/api.js
@@ -28,6 +28,17 @@ async function fetchAPI(endpoint, options = {}) {
 
   try {
     const response = await fetch(url, config);
+
+    // Check if response is JSON before parsing
+    const contentType = response.headers.get('content-type');
+    if (!contentType || !contentType.includes('application/json')) {
+      throw new ApiError(
+        'Server returned non-JSON response',
+        response.status,
+        { message: 'The server is not responding correctly. Please try again later.' }
+      );
+    }
+
     const data = await response.json();
 
     if (!response.ok) {
@@ -43,6 +54,14 @@ async function fetchAPI(endpoint, options = {}) {
     if (error instanceof ApiError) {
       throw error;
     }
+    // Handle JSON parsing errors
+    if (error instanceof SyntaxError) {
+      throw new ApiError(
+        'Invalid server response',
+        0,
+        { message: 'The server returned an invalid response. Please check if the server is running.' }
+      );
+    }
     throw new ApiError('Network error', 0, { message: error.message });
   }
 }