diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index f38752a..58779de 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ production:
   only:
     - master
   script:
-    - if [[ ! -d "${WWW_DEPLOY_ROOT_PRODUCTION}" ]] ; then mkdir -p "${WWW_DEPLOY_ROOT_PRODUCTION}" || die "Failed to create target directory for deployment!"; fi
+    - if [[ -z "${WWW_DEPLOY_ROOT_PRODUCTION}" ]] ; then echo "WWW_DEPLOY_ROOT_PRODUCTION is not set" ; exit 1 ; fi
+    - if [[ ! -d "${WWW_DEPLOY_ROOT_PRODUCTION}" ]] ; then mkdir -p "${WWW_DEPLOY_ROOT_PRODUCTION}" || die "Failed to create target directory for deployment!" ; fi
     - cp dist/* "${WWW_DEPLOY_ROOT_PRODUCTION}"
 
 cleanup_job: