diff --git a/.env.sample b/.env.sample
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d54b275
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.sample
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+DEBUG=True
+AWS_REGION=eu-central-1
+ENV_BUCKET_NAME=newsforyou-cms-config-jhoeke
+BOT_SERVICE_ENDPOINT=127.0.0.0
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cbe814e..8b32310 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,26 +7,62 @@ It provides a REST-API for [wdrforyou-bot](https://github.com/wdr-data/wdrforyou
 
 
 ## Local development
-We don't advise to deploy to AWS for local development, as it is quite time consuming to set up. Test locally using:
+We don't advise you to deploy to AWS for local development, as it is quite time consuming to set up.
+
+Copy `.env.sample` to `.env` and make adjustments if necessary.
 
 Enable pipenv shell:
-```
+```bash
 $ pipenv shell
 ```
 
-To run local development server:
+### Initial setup
+```bash
+$ app/manage.py migrate
+$ app/manage.py createsuperuser
 ```
+
+### Development
+To run local development server:
+```bash
 $ app/manage.py runserver
 ```
 For database migrations use:
 
-```
+```bash
 $ app/manage.py makemigrations
 $ app/manage.py migrate
 ```
 
 Alternatively you can run commands without enabling pipenv shell, for example:
-```$ pipenv run app/manage.py runserver```
+```bash
+$ pipenv run app/manage.py runserver
+```
+
+## AWS Deployment
+- Set up an S3 bucket for static files and an IAM user with access to that bucket
+- Create Zappa deployment bucket and update the `s3_bucket` key in `zappa_settings.json`
+- Follow [this guide](https://edgarroman.github.io/zappa-django-guide/walk_database/) to set up an SQL database (Postgres)
+- Follow [this guide](https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/internet-access-lambda-function/) to give your Lambda functions general internet access
+- Optional: Create an S3 endpoint in your VPC to specifically set up S3 connectivity for your Lambda functions
+- Run `zappa deploy <stage>` for initial deployment and `zappa update <stage>` for updating
 
-## Deployment
-TBD
+### Environment Configuration
+You can use the `s3-env-config` npm package to configure the environment variables in an S3 bucket.
+
+The following environment variables are required:
+
+```json
+{
+    "DEBUG": "",  // Can be True or False
+    "SECRET_KEY": "",  // If DEBUG=False
+    "S3_BUCKET_NAME": "",  // S3 bucket for static files
+    "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID": "",  // Credentials for the bucket
+    "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY": "",
+    "DB_NAME": "",
+    "DB_USER": "",
+    "DB_PASSWORD": "",
+    "DB_HOST": "",
+    "BOT_SERVICE_ENDPOINT": ""  // With trailing slash
+}
+```