diff --git a/website/content/docs/add-to-your-site.md b/website/content/docs/add-to-your-site.md
index df8cec91..53645ca5 100755
--- a/website/content/docs/add-to-your-site.md
+++ b/website/content/docs/add-to-your-site.md
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ rating: 5
 This is the post body, where I write about our last chance to party before the Y2K bug destroys us all.
 ```
 
-Given this example, our `collections` settings would look like this:
+Given this example, our `collections` settings would look like this in your NetlifyCMS `config.yml` file:
 
 ```yaml
 collections:
@@ -194,11 +194,11 @@ Let's break that down:
 
 As described above, the `widget` property specifies a built-in or custom UI widget for a given field. When a content editor enters a value into a widget, that value will be saved in the document front matter as the value for the `name` specified for that field. A full listing of available widgets can be found in the [Widgets doc](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/widgets).
 
-Based on this example, you can go through the post types in your site and add the appropriate settings to your Netlify CMS `config.yml` file. Each post type should be listed as a separate node under the `collections` field.
+Based on this example, you can go through the post types in your site and add the appropriate settings to your Netlify CMS `config.yml` file. Each post type should be listed as a separate node under the `collections` field. See the [Collections reference doc](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/configuration-options/#collections) for more configuration options.
 
 ### Filter
 
-The entries for any collection can be filtered based on the value of a single field. The example collection below would only show post entries with the value "en" in the language field.
+The entries for any collection can be filtered based on the value of a single field. The example collection below would only show post entries with the value `en` in the `language` field.
 
 ```yaml
 collections:
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ collections:
 
 ## Authentication
 
-Now that you have your Netlify CMS files in place and configured, all that's left is to enable authentication. There are [many ways to do this](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/authentication-backends) (with or without deploying to Netlify), but this example uses Netlify because it's one of the quickest ways to get started.
+Now that you have your Netlify CMS files in place and configured, all that's left is to enable authentication. We're using the [Netlify](https://www.netlify.com/) platform here because it's one of the quickest ways to get started, but you can learn about other authentication options in the [Authentication & Backends](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/authentication-backends) doc.
 
 ### Setup on Netlify
 
@@ -265,4 +265,6 @@ If you set your registration preference to "Invite only," you'll need to invite
 
 If you left your site registration open, or for return visits after comfirming an email invitation, you can access your site's CMS at `yoursite.com/admin/`.
 
+**Note**: no matter where you access Netlify CMS — whether running locally, in a staging environment, or in your published site — it will always fetch and commit files in your hosted repository (for example, on GitHub), on the branch you configured in your Netlify CMS config.yml file. This means that content fetched in the admin UI will match the content in the repository, which may be different from your locally running site. It also means that content saved using the admin UI will save directly to the hosted repository, even if you're running the UI locally or in staging.
+
 Happy posting!
diff --git a/website/content/docs/collection-types.md b/website/content/docs/collection-types.md
index 8df4bdfd..efac07b0 100644
--- a/website/content/docs/collection-types.md
+++ b/website/content/docs/collection-types.md
@@ -14,20 +14,21 @@ Folder collections represent one or more files with the same format, fields, and
 
 Unlike file collections, folder collections have the option to allow editors to create new items in the collection. This is set by the boolean `create` field.
 
-**Note:** Folder collections must have at least one field with the name "title" for creating new entry slugs. That field should use the default "string" widget. The "label" for the field can be any string value.
+**Note:** Folder collections must have at least one field with the name `title` for creating new entry slugs. That field should use the default `string` widget. The `label` for the field can be any string value. See the [Collections reference doc](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/configuration-options/#collections) for details on how collections and fields are configured. 
 
 Example:
 
 ```yaml
-- label: 'Blog'
-  name: 'blog'
-  folder: '_posts/blog'
-  create: true
-  fields:
-    - { label: 'Title', name: 'title', widget: 'string' }
-    - { label: 'Publish Date', name: 'date', widget: 'datetime' }
-    - { label: 'Featured Image', name: 'thumbnail', widget: 'image' }
-    - { label: 'Body', name: 'body', widget: 'markdown' }
+collections:
+  - label: "Blog"
+    name: "blog"
+    folder: "_posts/blog"
+    create: true
+    fields:
+      - {label: "Title", name: "title", widget: "string"}
+      - {label: "Publish Date", name: "date", widget: "datetime"}
+      - {label: "Featured Image", name: "thumbnail", widget: "image"}
+      - {label: "Body", name: "body", widget: "markdown"}
 ```
 
 ### Filtered folder collections
@@ -67,37 +68,38 @@ A `files` collection contains one or more uniquely configured files. Unlike item
 
 When configuring a `files` collection, each file in the collection is configured separately, and listed under the `files` field of the collection. Each file has its own list of `fields`, and a unique filepath specified in the `file` field (relative to the base of the repo).
 
-**Note:** Files listed in a file collection must already exist in the repo, and must have a valid value for the file type. For example, an empty file works as valid YAML, but a JSON file must have a non-empty value to be valid, such as an empty object.
+**Note**: Files listed in a file collection must already exist in the hosted repository branch set in your Netlify CMS [backend configuration](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/authentication-backends/). Files must also have a valid value for the file type. For example, an empty file works as valid YAML, but a JSON file must have a non-empty value to be valid, such as an empty object.
 
 Example:
 
 ```yaml
-- label: 'Pages'
-  name: 'pages'
-  files:
-    - label: 'About Page'
-      name: 'about'
-      file: 'site/content/about.yml'
-      fields:
-        - { label: Title, name: title, widget: string }
-        - { label: Intro, name: intro, widget: markdown }
-        - label: Team
-          name: team
-          widget: list
-          fields:
-            - { label: Name, name: name, widget: string }
-            - { label: Position, name: position, widget: string }
-            - { label: Photo, name: photo, widget: image }
-    - label: 'Locations Page'
-      name: 'locations'
-      file: 'site/content/locations.yml'
-      fields:
-        - { label: Title, name: title, widget: string }
-        - { label: Intro, name: intro, widget: markdown }
-        - label: Locations
-          name: locations
-          widget: list
-          fields:
-            - { label: Name, name: name, widget: string }
-            - { label: Address, name: address, widget: string }
+collections:
+  - label: "Pages"
+    name: "pages"
+    files:
+      - label: "About Page"
+        name: "about"
+        file: "site/content/about.yml"
+        fields:
+          - {label: Title, name: title, widget: string}
+          - {label: Intro, name: intro, widget: markdown}
+          - label: Team
+            name: team
+            widget: list
+            fields:
+              - {label: Name, name: name, widget: string}
+              - {label: Position, name: position, widget: string}
+              - {label: Photo, name: photo, widget: image}
+      - label: "Locations Page"
+        name: "locations"
+        file: "site/content/locations.yml"
+        fields:
+          - {label: Title, name: title, widget: string}
+          - {label: Intro, name: intro, widget: markdown}
+          - label: Locations
+            name: locations
+            widget: list
+            fields:
+              - {label: Name, name: name, widget: string}
+              - {label: Address, name: address, widget: string}
 ```
diff --git a/website/content/docs/configuration-options.md b/website/content/docs/configuration-options.md
index d5dcdca0..23a5a138 100644
--- a/website/content/docs/configuration-options.md
+++ b/website/content/docs/configuration-options.md
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ _This setting is required._
 
 The `backend` option specifies how to access the content for your site, including authentication. Full details and code samples can be found in [Authentication & Backends](https://www.netlifycms.org/docs/authentication-backends).
 
+**Note**: no matter where you access Netlify CMS — whether running locally, in a staging environment, or in your published site — it will always fetch and commit files in your hosted repository (for example, on GitHub), on the branch you configured in your Netlify CMS config.yml file. This means that content fetched in the admin UI will match the content in the repository, which may be different from your locally running site. It also means that content saved using the admin UI will save directly to the hosted repository, even if you're running the UI locally or in staging.
+
 ## Publish Mode
 
 By default, all entries created or edited in the Netlify CMS are committed directly into the main repository branch.