diff --git a/conf/sqlite_serve.conf b/conf/sqlite_serve.conf
index c42bd2e..c992411 100644
--- a/conf/sqlite_serve.conf
+++ b/conf/sqlite_serve.conf
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ events {
     worker_connections 1024;
 }
 
-error_log logs/error.log warn;
+error_log logs/error.log debug;
 
 http {
     # Global templates for shared components
diff --git a/src/handler_types.rs b/src/handler_types.rs
index b77c10c..e7d2a2d 100644
--- a/src/handler_types.rs
+++ b/src/handler_types.rs
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
 use crate::adapters::{HandlebarsAdapter, NginxVariableResolver, SqliteQueryExecutor};
 use crate::config::{MainConfig, ModuleConfig};
 use crate::domain::{RequestProcessor, ValidatedConfig};
+use crate::logging;
 use crate::nginx_helpers::{get_doc_root_and_uri, send_response};
 use crate::parsing;
 use crate::{domain, Module};
 use ngx::core::Status;
 use ngx::http::{HttpModuleLocationConf, HttpModuleMainConf};
-use ngx::ngx_log_debug_http;
 
 /// Proof that we have valid configuration (Ghost of Departed Proofs)
 pub struct ValidConfigToken<'a> {
@@ -35,42 +35,65 @@ pub fn process_request(
     request: &mut ngx::http::Request,
     config: ValidConfigToken,
 ) -> Status {
+    logging::log(
+        request,
+        logging::LogLevel::Debug,
+        "handler",
+        &format!("Processing request for {}", request.unparsed_uri().to_str().unwrap_or("unknown")),
+    );
+
     // Parse config into validated types
-    // If this fails, it's a programming error (config should be valid per token)
     let validated_config = match parsing::parse_config(config.get()) {
         Ok(c) => c,
         Err(e) => {
-            ngx_log_debug_http!(request, "unexpected parse error: {}", e);
+            logging::log_config_error(request, "configuration", "", &e);
             return ngx::http::HTTPStatus::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR.into();
         }
     };
 
-    // Get nginx paths - can fail due to nginx state, not our logic
+    // Get nginx paths
     let (doc_root, uri) = match get_doc_root_and_uri(request) {
         Ok(paths) => paths,
         Err(e) => {
-            ngx_log_debug_http!(request, "nginx path error: {}", e);
+            logging::log(request, logging::LogLevel::Error, "nginx", &format!("Path resolution failed: {}", e));
             return ngx::http::HTTPStatus::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR.into();
         }
     };
 
-    // Pure function - cannot fail
+    // Resolve template path (pure function - cannot fail)
     let resolved_template = domain::resolve_template_path(&doc_root, &uri, &validated_config.template_path);
 
-    // Resolve parameters - can fail if nginx variable doesn't exist
+    logging::log(
+        request,
+        logging::LogLevel::Debug,
+        "template",
+        &format!("Resolved template: {}", resolved_template.full_path()),
+    );
+
+    // Resolve parameters
     let var_resolver = NginxVariableResolver::new(request);
     let resolved_params = match domain::resolve_parameters(&validated_config.parameters, &var_resolver) {
-        Ok(params) => params,
+        Ok(params) => {
+            if !params.is_empty() {
+                logging::log(
+                    request,
+                    logging::LogLevel::Debug,
+                    "params",
+                    &format!("Resolved {} parameters", params.len()),
+                );
+            }
+            params
+        }
         Err(e) => {
-            ngx_log_debug_http!(request, "parameter error: {}", e);
+            logging::log_param_error(request, "variable", &e);
             return ngx::http::HTTPStatus::BAD_REQUEST.into();
         }
     };
 
-    // Create processor and run - uses dependency injection
+    // Execute and render
     let html = execute_with_processor(&validated_config, &resolved_template, &resolved_params, request);
     
-    // Send response - proven correct by types
+    // Send response
     send_response(request, &html)
 }
 
@@ -93,20 +116,67 @@ fn execute_with_processor(
 
     let main_conf = Module::main_conf(request).expect("main config is none");
     let global_dir = if !main_conf.global_templates_dir.is_empty() {
+        logging::log_template_loading(
+            request,
+            "global",
+            0,
+            &main_conf.global_templates_dir,
+        );
         Some(main_conf.global_templates_dir.as_str())
     } else {
         None
     };
 
-    // If processor fails, return error HTML instead of panicking
-    processor
-        .process(config, resolved_template, resolved_params, global_dir)
-        .unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+    // Process through functional core
+    match processor.process(config, resolved_template, resolved_params, global_dir) {
+        Ok(html) => {
+            // Count results for logging (parse HTML or trust it worked)
+            logging::log(
+                request,
+                logging::LogLevel::Info,
+                "success",
+                &format!(
+                    "Rendered {} with {} params",
+                    resolved_template.full_path().split('/').last().unwrap_or("template"),
+                    resolved_params.len()
+                ),
+            );
+            html
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            // Log detailed error information
+            if e.contains("query") {
+                logging::log_query_error(request, config.query.as_str(), &e);
+            } else if e.contains("template") {
+                logging::log_template_error(request, resolved_template.full_path(), &e);
+            } else {
+                logging::log(
+                    request,
+                    logging::LogLevel::Error,
+                    "processing",
+                    &format!("Request processing failed: {}", e),
+                );
+            }
+
+            // Return user-friendly error page
             format!(
-                "<html><body><h1>Error</h1><pre>{}</pre></body></html>",
+                r#"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+<head><title>Error - sqlite-serve</title></head>
+<body style="font-family: monospace; max-width: 800px; margin: 2rem auto; padding: 0 1rem;">
+    <h1 style="color: #CC9393;">Request Processing Error</h1>
+    <p style="color: #A6A689;">An error occurred while processing your request.</p>
+    <details style="margin-top: 1rem; background: #1111; padding: 1rem; border-left: 3px solid #CC9393;">
+        <summary style="cursor: pointer; color: #DFAF8F; font-weight: bold;">Error Details</summary>
+        <pre style="margin-top: 1rem; color: #DCDCCC; overflow-x: auto;">{}</pre>
+    </details>
+    <p style="margin-top: 2rem;"><a href="/" style="color: #7CB8BB;">← Back to Home</a></p>
+</body>
+</html>"#,
                 e
             )
-        })
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index a439405..c58bcb8 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ mod adapters;
 mod config;
 mod domain;
 mod handler_types;
+mod logging;
 mod nginx_helpers;
 mod parsing;
 mod query;
diff --git a/src/logging.rs b/src/logging.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0727dce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/logging.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+//! Structured logging utilities for sqlite-serve
+
+use ngx::http::Request;
+use ngx::ngx_log_error;
+
+/// Log levels matching nginx conventions
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
+pub enum LogLevel {
+    Debug,
+    Info,
+    Warn,
+    Error,
+}
+
+/// Log a message with context using nginx's native logging
+pub fn log(request: &mut Request, level: LogLevel, module: &str, message: &str) {
+    let r: *mut ngx::ffi::ngx_http_request_t = request.into();
+    
+    let log_level = match level {
+        LogLevel::Error => 3,  // NGX_LOG_ERR
+        LogLevel::Warn => 4,   // NGX_LOG_WARN
+        LogLevel::Info => 6,   // NGX_LOG_INFO
+        LogLevel::Debug => 7,  // NGX_LOG_DEBUG
+    };
+
+    unsafe {
+        let connection = (*r).connection;
+        if !connection.is_null() {
+            let log_ptr = (*connection).log;
+            if !log_ptr.is_null() {
+                // ngx_log_error! requires a string literal, so we use the C API directly
+                let c_msg = std::ffi::CString::new(format!("[sqlite-serve:{}] {}", module, message))
+                    .unwrap_or_else(|_| std::ffi::CString::new("log message error").unwrap());
+                
+                ngx::ffi::ngx_log_error_core(
+                    log_level as ngx::ffi::ngx_uint_t,
+                    log_ptr,
+                    0,
+                    c_msg.as_ptr(),
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Log configuration parsing error
+pub fn log_config_error(request: &mut Request, field: &str, value: &str, error: &str) {
+    log(
+        request,
+        LogLevel::Error,
+        "config",
+        &format!("Invalid {}: '{}' - {}", field, value, error),
+    );
+}
+
+/// Log query execution error
+pub fn log_query_error(request: &mut Request, query: &str, error: &str) {
+    log(
+        request,
+        LogLevel::Error,
+        "query",
+        &format!("Query failed: {} - Error: {}", query, error),
+    );
+}
+
+/// Log template error
+pub fn log_template_error(request: &mut Request, template_path: &str, error: &str) {
+    log(
+        request,
+        LogLevel::Error,
+        "template",
+        &format!("Template '{}' failed: {}", template_path, error),
+    );
+}
+
+/// Log parameter resolution error
+pub fn log_param_error(request: &mut Request, param: &str, error: &str) {
+    log(
+        request,
+        LogLevel::Warn,
+        "params",
+        &format!("Parameter '{}' resolution failed: {}", param, error),
+    );
+}
+
+/// Log successful request processing
+pub fn log_request_success(
+    request: &mut Request,
+    query: &str,
+    param_count: usize,
+    result_count: usize,
+    template: &str,
+) {
+    log(
+        request,
+        LogLevel::Info,
+        "request",
+        &format!(
+            "Processed: query='{}' params={} results={} template='{}'",
+            query, param_count, result_count, template
+        ),
+    );
+}
+
+/// Log template loading info
+pub fn log_template_loading(request: &mut Request, source: &str, count: usize, dir: &str) {
+    log(
+        request,
+        LogLevel::Debug,
+        "templates",
+        &format!("Loaded {} {} templates from '{}'", count, source, dir),
+    );
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_log_level_ordering() {
+        // Just verify we can construct log levels
+        let levels = vec![
+            LogLevel::Debug,
+            LogLevel::Info,
+            LogLevel::Warn,
+            LogLevel::Error,
+        ];
+        assert_eq!(levels.len(), 4);
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/src/nginx_helpers.rs b/src/nginx_helpers.rs
index 05113bc..60ffd1a 100644
--- a/src/nginx_helpers.rs
+++ b/src/nginx_helpers.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 //! NGINX-specific helper functions
 
+use crate::logging;
 use ngx::core::Buffer;
 use ngx::ffi::ngx_chain_t;
 use ngx::http::{HttpModuleLocationConf, NgxHttpCoreModule, Request};
-use ngx::{core::Status, http, ngx_log_debug_http};
+use ngx::{core::Status, http};
 
 /// Get document root and URI from request
 pub fn get_doc_root_and_uri(request: &mut Request) -> Result<(String, String), String> {
@@ -54,9 +55,10 @@ pub fn send_response(request: &mut Request, body: &str) -> Status {
     Status::NGX_DONE
 }
 
-/// Log and return error status
+/// Log and return error status (deprecated - use logging module directly)
+#[allow(dead_code)]
 pub fn log_error(request: &mut Request, context: &str, error: &str, status: http::HTTPStatus) -> Status {
-    ngx_log_debug_http!(request, "{}: {}", context, error);
+    logging::log(request, logging::LogLevel::Error, context, error);
     status.into()
 }