diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index ae341abc9..77eae6504 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ simple guidelines.
 
       // Return the current UNIX time.
 
-* Sign all your comments with your public key, using `git commit -S`.
 * Follow the guidelines when proposing code changes (see below).
 * Write properly formatted git commits (see below).
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 49142e1a5..b930b197d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,34 +1,72 @@
-# Radicle Interface
+# Radicle Web UI
 
-✨ A web-based Radicle user interface.
+This user interface lets you interact with [Radicle][rad], a peer-to-peer code
+collaboration and publishing stack, directly from your web browser.
 
-To propose changes open an [issue][is] or a [patch][pa] on [Radicle][ra].
+**Deployment Options:**
 
-## Available Scripts
+* **Public Server:** The Radicle team maintains a public instance at [app.radicle.xyz][app]
+* **Local-first:** Run the UI locally
+* **Self-hosting:** Deploy the UI on your own server
 
-### npm start
 
-Runs the app in the development mode.
-Open http://localhost:3000 to view it in the browser.
+## Local-first
 
-The page will reload if you make edits.
-You will also see any lint errors in the console.
+**Prerequisites:**
 
-### npm run build
+* Recent versions of [Node.js][nod] (20.9.0 or higher) and [npm][npm] installed
 
-Builds a static copy of your site to the `build/` folder.
-Your app is ready to be deployed!
+Run the following commands to access the web UI locally:
+```
+git clone https://seed.radicle.garden/z4V1sjrXqjvFdnCUbxPFqd5p4DtH5.git radicle-interface
+cd radicle-interface
+npm install
+npm start
+```
+Then open http://localhost:3000 in your favourite browser.
 
-## Deployments
 
-Latest public production deployment 👉 [app.radicle.xyz][ap]
+## Self-Hosting the UI
 
-If you want to connect to pre-heartwood nodes, you can run the app locally
-using the `legacy` tag, available by running `git checkout legacy`.
+There are several ways to deploy the UI publicly. Here are two common options:
+
+**Using your own web server:**
+
+1. Run `npm install && npm build` to create a build for deployment
+2. Configure your web server to serve the contents of the `/build` directory
+
+**Using Vercel (or similar static file hosting):**
+
+1. Fork this repository to create your own version
+2. Configure your Vercel account to deploy the forked repository
+
+
+## Contributing
+
+* For detailed contribution guidelines, refer to the [CONTRIBUTING.md][con]
+  file
+* To propose changes, open an [issue][iss] or submit a [patch][pat] using
+  Radicle
+
+
+## Getting in touch
+
+To get in touch with the maintainers, sign up to our
+[official chat on Zulip][zul].
+
+
+## License
+
+The UI is distributed under the terms of GPLv3. See [LICENSE][lic] for details.
 
 
 
-[ap]: https://app.radicle.xyz
-[is]: https://app.radicle.xyz/nodes/seed.radicle.xyz/rad:z4V1sjrXqjvFdnCUbxPFqd5p4DtH5/issues
-[pa]: https://app.radicle.xyz/nodes/seed.radicle.xyz/rad:z4V1sjrXqjvFdnCUbxPFqd5p4DtH5/patches
-[ra]: https://radicle.xyz
+[app]: https://app.radicle.xyz
+[con]: ./CONTRIBUTING.md
+[iss]: https://app.radicle.xyz/nodes/seed.radicle.garden/rad:z4V1sjrXqjvFdnCUbxPFqd5p4DtH5/issues
+[lic]: ./LICENSE
+[nod]: https://nodejs.org
+[npm]: https://www.npmjs.com
+[pat]: https://app.radicle.xyz/nodes/seed.radicle.garden/rad:z4V1sjrXqjvFdnCUbxPFqd5p4DtH5/patches
+[rad]: https://radicle.xyz
+[zul]: https://radicle.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/369278-web