diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index f3b7aff689..3fe88a58b9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -15,12 +15,16 @@ jobs:
     env:
       # The ci step will test the dspace-angular code against DSpace REST.
       # Direct that step to utilize a DSpace REST service that has been started in docker.
+      # NOTE: These settings should be kept in sync with those in [src]/docker/docker-compose-ci.yml
       DSPACE_REST_HOST: 127.0.0.1
       DSPACE_REST_PORT: 8080
       DSPACE_REST_NAMESPACE: '/server'
       DSPACE_REST_SSL: false
       # Spin up UI on 127.0.0.1 to avoid host resolution issues in e2e tests with Node 18+
       DSPACE_UI_HOST: 127.0.0.1
+      DSPACE_UI_PORT: 4000
+      # Tell Cypress to run e2e tests using the same UI URL
+      CYPRESS_BASE_URL: http://127.0.0.1:4000
       # When Chrome version is specified, we pin to a specific version of Chrome
       # Comment this out to use the latest release
       #CHROME_VERSION: "90.0.4430.212-1"
diff --git a/cypress.config.ts b/cypress.config.ts
index e45b8a5396..91eeb9838b 100644
--- a/cypress.config.ts
+++ b/cypress.config.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { defineConfig } from 'cypress'
+import { defineConfig } from 'cypress';
 
 export default defineConfig({
   videosFolder: 'cypress/videos',
@@ -9,23 +9,36 @@ export default defineConfig({
     openMode: 0,
   },
   env: {
+    // Global constants used in DSpace e2e tests (see also ./cypress/support/e2e.ts)
+    // May be overridden in our cypress.json config file using specified environment variables.
+    // Default values listed here are all valid for the Demo Entities Data set available at
+    // https://github.com/DSpace-Labs/AIP-Files/releases/tag/demo-entities-data
+    // (This is the data set used in our CI environment)
+
+    // Admin account used for administrative tests
     DSPACE_TEST_ADMIN_USER: 'dspacedemo+admin@gmail.com',
     DSPACE_TEST_ADMIN_PASSWORD: 'dspace',
+    // Community/collection/publication used for view/edit tests
     DSPACE_TEST_COMMUNITY: '0958c910-2037-42a9-81c7-dca80e3892b4',
     DSPACE_TEST_COLLECTION: '282164f5-d325-4740-8dd1-fa4d6d3e7200',
     DSPACE_TEST_ENTITY_PUBLICATION: 'e98b0f27-5c19-49a0-960d-eb6ad5287067',
+    // Search term (should return results) used in search tests
     DSPACE_TEST_SEARCH_TERM: 'test',
+    // Collection used for submission tests
     DSPACE_TEST_SUBMIT_COLLECTION_NAME: 'Sample Collection',
     DSPACE_TEST_SUBMIT_COLLECTION_UUID: '9d8334e9-25d3-4a67-9cea-3dffdef80144',
+    // Account used to test basic submission process
     DSPACE_TEST_SUBMIT_USER: 'dspacedemo+submit@gmail.com',
     DSPACE_TEST_SUBMIT_USER_PASSWORD: 'dspace',
   },
   e2e: {
-    // We've imported your old cypress plugins here.
-    // You may want to clean this up later by importing these.
+    // Setup our plugins for e2e tests
     setupNodeEvents(on, config) {
-      return require('./cypress/plugins/index.ts')(on, config)
+      return require('./cypress/plugins/index.ts')(on, config);
     },
+    // This is the base URL that Cypress will run all tests against
+    // It can be overridden via the CYPRESS_BASE_URL environment variable
+    // (By default we set this to a value which should work in most development environments)
     baseUrl: 'http://localhost:4000',
   },
-})
+});
diff --git a/cypress/support/e2e.ts b/cypress/support/e2e.ts
index 17950eb629..9f2edec31b 100644
--- a/cypress/support/e2e.ts
+++ b/cypress/support/e2e.ts
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ beforeEach(() => {
 // For better stability between tests, we visit "about:blank" (i.e. blank page) after each test.
 // This ensures any remaining/outstanding XHR requests are killed, so they don't affect the next test.
 // Borrowed from: https://glebbahmutov.com/blog/visit-blank-page-between-tests/
-afterEach(() => {
+/*afterEach(() => {
     cy.window().then((win) => {
       win.location.href = 'about:blank';
     });
-});
+});*/
 
 
 // Global constants used in tests
diff --git a/cypress/support/utils.ts b/cypress/support/utils.ts
index fc0820d25c..96575969e8 100644
--- a/cypress/support/utils.ts
+++ b/cypress/support/utils.ts
@@ -40,13 +40,5 @@ export const testA11y = (context?: any, options?: Options) => {
             { id: 'color-contrast', enabled: false },
         ]
     });
-    // Default retries to 2, meaning this accessibility test will retry up to 2 times.
-    const a11yRetries = 2;
-    if (options) {
-        options.retries = a11yRetries;
-    } else {
-        options = { retries: a11yRetries } as Options;
-    }
-
     cy.checkA11y(context, options, terminalLog);
 };