diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 4222e0e..2b22d7c 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -14,12 +14,22 @@ ASSETS_DIR="assets"
 # Opt out with STRIP_EXIF=0 or --keep-exif.
 STRIP_EXIF="${STRIP_EXIF:-1}"
 
+# Page title, used for both <title> and the <h1> header
+GALLERY_TITLE="${GALLERY_TITLE:-Gallery}"
+
+# Show the "Powered by shellery" footer; set to 0 to hide it
+SHOW_FOOTER="${SHOW_FOOTER:-1}"
+
 for arg in "$@"; do
     case "$arg" in
         --keep-exif) STRIP_EXIF=0 ;;
+        --no-footer) SHOW_FOOTER=0 ;;
+        --title=*)   GALLERY_TITLE="${arg#--title=}" ;;
         -h|--help)
-            echo "usage: ./build.sh [--keep-exif]"
-            echo "  --keep-exif   do not strip image metadata (env: STRIP_EXIF=0)"
+            echo "usage: ./build.sh [--keep-exif] [--no-footer] [--title=TEXT]"
+            echo "  --keep-exif    do not strip image metadata (env: STRIP_EXIF=0)"
+            echo "  --no-footer    hide the 'Powered by shellery' footer (env: SHOW_FOOTER=0)"
+            echo "  --title=TEXT   page title and header, default 'Gallery' (env: GALLERY_TITLE)"
             exit 0 ;;
         *) echo "unknown option: $arg" >&2; exit 1 ;;
     esac
@@ -33,6 +43,18 @@ if [[ "$STRIP_EXIF" == "1" ]] && ! command -v exiftool >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+# Escape text destined for HTML body content
+html_escape() {
+    local s=$1
+    # Replacements are quoted: bash 5.2+ expands an unquoted & to the matched text
+    s="${s//&/"&amp;"}"
+    s="${s//</"&lt;"}"
+    s="${s//>/"&gt;"}"
+    printf '%s' "$s"
+}
+
+TITLE_HTML=$(html_escape "$GALLERY_TITLE")
+
 # Create output directory
 mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"
 
@@ -42,8 +64,27 @@ OUTPUT_FILE="$OUTPUT_DIR/index.html"
 
 # Assemble templates in order
 for template in $(ls "$TEMPLATES_DIR"/*.tmpl | sort); do
+    skip_block=0
     # Process each template line by line to handle placeholders
     while IFS= read -r line; do
+        # Optional block: <!-- IF_FOOTER --> ... <!-- ENDIF_FOOTER -->
+        if [[ "$line" == *"<!-- IF_FOOTER -->"* ]]; then
+            if [[ "$SHOW_FOOTER" != "1" ]]; then
+                skip_block=1
+            fi
+            continue
+        fi
+        if [[ "$line" == *"<!-- ENDIF_FOOTER -->"* ]]; then
+            skip_block=0
+            continue
+        fi
+        if [[ "$skip_block" == "1" ]]; then
+            continue
+        fi
+
+        # Replacement is quoted: bash 5.2+ expands an unquoted & to the matched text
+        line="${line//<!-- TITLE -->/"$TITLE_HTML"}"
+
         if [[ "$line" == *"<!-- IMAGES -->"* ]]; then
             # Generate gallery items (reversed order)
             images=("$IMAGES_DIR"/*)
diff --git a/templates/00_meta.tmpl b/templates/00_meta.tmpl
index 6503001..7a025fe 100644
--- a/templates/00_meta.tmpl
+++ b/templates/00_meta.tmpl
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
     <meta name="description" content="Image gallery powered by shellery">
     <meta name="generator" content="shellery">
-    <title>Gallery</title>
+    <title><!-- TITLE --></title>
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
     <link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico">
 </head>
diff --git a/templates/10_header.tmpl b/templates/10_header.tmpl
index 4f67869..3283e41 100644
--- a/templates/10_header.tmpl
+++ b/templates/10_header.tmpl
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
     <header>
-        <h1>Gallery</h1>
+        <h1><!-- TITLE --></h1>
     </header>
diff --git a/templates/90_footer.tmpl b/templates/90_footer.tmpl
index a744170..2ceba0d 100644
--- a/templates/90_footer.tmpl
+++ b/templates/90_footer.tmpl
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
     <!-- LIGHTBOXES -->
+    <!-- IF_FOOTER -->
     <footer>
         <p>Powered by <a href="https://git.uphillsecurity.com/cf7/shellery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shellery</a></p>
     </footer>
+    <!-- ENDIF_FOOTER -->
 </body>
 </html>