diff --git a/config/inertia.php b/config/inertia.php
index bab52f25..4b1d57f7 100644
--- a/config/inertia.php
+++ b/config/inertia.php
@@ -25,10 +25,42 @@
 
         'url' => env('INERTIA_SSR_URL', 'http://127.0.0.1:13714'),
 
+        'dispatch_without_bundle' => (bool) env('INERTIA_SSR_DISPATCH_WITHOUT_BUNDLE', false),
+
         // 'bundle' => base_path('bootstrap/ssr/ssr.mjs'),
 
     ],
 
+    /*
+    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    | Pages
+    |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    |
+    | If you want to ensure that the pages exist, you can set `ensure_pages_exist` to true.
+    | This will throw an exception if the component does not exist on the filesystem
+    | when rendering a page. You may configure this separately for testing.
+    |
+    */
+
+    'ensure_pages_exist' => false,
+
+    'page_paths' => [
+
+        resource_path('js/Pages'),
+
+    ],
+
+    'page_extensions' => [
+
+        'js',
+        'jsx',
+        'svelte',
+        'ts',
+        'tsx',
+        'vue',
+
+    ],
+
     /*
     |--------------------------------------------------------------------------
     | Testing
@@ -39,29 +71,16 @@
     | attempts to locate the component as a file relative to any of the
     | paths AND with any of the extensions specified here.
     |
+    | By default, it uses the `page_paths` and `page_extensions` settings
+    | defined above. You may override these values for testing purposes
+    | by adding these two keys to this `testing` array.
+    |
     */
 
     'testing' => [
 
         'ensure_pages_exist' => true,
 
-        'page_paths' => [
-
-            resource_path('js/Pages'),
-
-        ],
-
-        'page_extensions' => [
-
-            'js',
-            'jsx',
-            'svelte',
-            'ts',
-            'tsx',
-            'vue',
-
-        ],
-
     ],
 
     'history' => [
diff --git a/src/ComponentNotFoundException.php b/src/ComponentNotFoundException.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..81776acb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ComponentNotFoundException.php
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Inertia;
+
+use InvalidArgumentException;
+
+class ComponentNotFoundException extends InvalidArgumentException {}
diff --git a/src/ResponseFactory.php b/src/ResponseFactory.php
index f0c1dca7..bc26629e 100644
--- a/src/ResponseFactory.php
+++ b/src/ResponseFactory.php
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Response as BaseResponse;
 use Illuminate\Support\Traits\Macroable;
 use Inertia\Support\Header;
+use InvalidArgumentException;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\RedirectResponse as SymfonyRedirect;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response as SymfonyResponse;
 
@@ -158,11 +159,27 @@ public function always($value): AlwaysProp
         return new AlwaysProp($value);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @throws ComponentNotFoundException
+     */
+    protected function findComponentOrFail(string $component): void
+    {
+        try {
+            app('inertia.view-finder')->find($component);
+        } catch (InvalidArgumentException) {
+            throw new ComponentNotFoundException("Inertia page component [{$component}] not found.");
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * @param  array|Arrayable  $props
      */
     public function render(string $component, $props = []): Response
     {
+        if (config('inertia.ensure_pages_exist', false)) {
+            $this->findComponentOrFail($component);
+        }
+
         if ($props instanceof Arrayable) {
             $props = $props->toArray();
         }
diff --git a/src/ServiceProvider.php b/src/ServiceProvider.php
index b0e0e0c8..665d0b0a 100644
--- a/src/ServiceProvider.php
+++ b/src/ServiceProvider.php
@@ -32,11 +32,19 @@ public function register(): void
         $this->registerTestingMacros();
         $this->registerMiddleware();
 
+        $this->app->bind('inertia.view-finder', function ($app) {
+            return new FileViewFinder(
+                $app['files'],
+                $app['config']->get('inertia.page_paths'),
+                $app['config']->get('inertia.page_extensions')
+            );
+        });
+
         $this->app->bind('inertia.testing.view-finder', function ($app) {
             return new FileViewFinder(
                 $app['files'],
-                $app['config']->get('inertia.testing.page_paths'),
-                $app['config']->get('inertia.testing.page_extensions')
+                $app['config']->get('inertia.testing.page_paths', fn () => $app['config']->get('inertia.page_paths')),
+                $app['config']->get('inertia.testing.page_extensions', fn () => $app['config']->get('inertia.page_extensions'))
             );
         });
     }
diff --git a/tests/ResponseFactoryTest.php b/tests/ResponseFactoryTest.php
index c2af15ad..52970279 100644
--- a/tests/ResponseFactoryTest.php
+++ b/tests/ResponseFactoryTest.php
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Request;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
 use Inertia\AlwaysProp;
+use Inertia\ComponentNotFoundException;
 use Inertia\DeferProp;
 use Inertia\Inertia;
 use Inertia\LazyProp;
@@ -376,4 +377,22 @@ public function toArray()
             ],
         ]);
     }
+
+    public function test_will_throw_exception_if_component_does_not_exist_when_ensuring_is_enabled(): void
+    {
+        config()->set('inertia.ensure_pages_exist', true);
+
+        $this->expectException(ComponentNotFoundException::class);
+        $this->expectExceptionMessage('Inertia page component [foo] not found.');
+
+        (new ResponseFactory)->render('foo');
+    }
+
+    public function test_will_not_throw_exception_if_component_does_not_exist_when_ensuring_is_disabled(): void
+    {
+        config()->set('inertia.ensure_pages_exist', false);
+
+        $response = (new ResponseFactory)->render('foo');
+        $this->assertInstanceOf(\Inertia\Response::class, $response);
+    }
 }