diff --git a/helm/config/default.conf b/helm/config/default.conf
index 7e0b8cb..7b43a0a 100644
--- a/helm/config/default.conf
+++ b/helm/config/default.conf
@@ -31,11 +31,6 @@ server {
 
       {{ include "nginx.otelTrace" . | nindent 8 }}
 
-      # Allow extending root path with custom configurations
-      {{- if .Values.nginx.extensions.location.enabled }}
-      include /etc/nginx/conf.d/extensions/{{ .Values.nginx.extensions.location.fileName }};
-      {{- end }}
-
       set $original_method $request_method;
       set $original_args $args;
 
@@ -47,7 +42,14 @@ server {
       otel_span_attr opa.reason $opa_reason;
       {{ end }}
 
-      proxy_pass http://{{ .Values.backend.host }}:{{ .Values.backend.port }};
+      # Allow extending root path with custom configurations
+      {{- if .Values.nginx.extensions.location.enabled }}
+      include /etc/nginx/conf.d/extensions/{{ .Values.nginx.extensions.location.fileName }};
+      {{- end }}
+
+      {{- if .Values.backend.enabled }}
+      proxy_pass http://{{ .Values.backend.host | default "localhost" }}:{{ .Values.backend.port }};
+      {{- end }}
     }
 
     {{ if .Values.authorization.enabled }}
diff --git a/helm/values.md b/helm/values.md
index 4679340..3307742 100644
--- a/helm/values.md
+++ b/helm/values.md
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ A Helm chart for nginx
 | authorization.domain | string | `"example"` | Your authorization domain |
 | authorization.enabled | bool | `true` | Use authroization mechanism |
 | authorization.url | string | `"http://localhost:8181/v1/data/http/authz/decision"` | Authorization endpoint |
-| backend.host | string | `"backend-service"` | Backend service name for proxy_pass |
+| backend.enabled | bool | `true` | Enable or disable the backend service |
+| backend.host | string | `""` | Backend service name for proxy_pass |
 | backend.port | int | `8080` | Backend service port |
 | caKey | string | `"ca.crt"` | Key in the CA secret that contains the certificate data |
 | caPath | string | `"/usr/local/share/ca-certificates"` | Path where the CA certificate will be mounted in the container |
diff --git a/helm/values.yaml b/helm/values.yaml
index 171bd4f..f7589e1 100644
--- a/helm/values.yaml
+++ b/helm/values.yaml
@@ -116,8 +116,10 @@ extraVolumeMounts: []
 sidecars: ""
 
 backend:
+  # -- Enable or disable the backend service
+  enabled: true
   # -- Backend service name for proxy_pass
-  host: "backend-service"
+  host: ''
   # -- Backend service port
   port: 8080