merge contribution guide contents

README.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ We welcome contributions from anyone! Create Issues and PRs on this repo for con
 
 Content can be created using Markdown, HTML, and [MyST](https://myst-parser.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) syntax.
 
-See also [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md)
+See also [CONTRIBUTING.md](./contributing/index.md)
 
 # Specifications
 

contributing/index.md

@@ -22,6 +22,36 @@ please leave a comment in a new page under the "comments/" directory for the
 relevant RFC. A template is also available for formatting your comment:
 [template](../rfc/1/templates/review_template).
 
+### How to change the specification
+
+To make a change such as the end-product of an RFC or a minor correction to the currently developed specification version,
+please do so via a pull request (PR) against the `main` branch of the [ome/ngff-spec](https://github.com/ome/ngff-spec) repository.
+This repository contains the specification documents in Markdown format,
+json examples and the schema files for validation.
+
 ## Changes to this website
 
-The repository for this website is [ome/ngff](https://github.com/ome/ngff). Contributions to these pages are welcome as issues or PRs. Please read the [contributing guide](https://github.com/ome/ngff/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).
+The repository for this website is [ome/ngff](https://github.com/ome/ngff).
+Contributions to these pages are welcome as issues or PRs.
+
+To do so, create a fork of the ``ome/ngff`` repository, make your changes,
+and submit a pull request (PR) against the `main` branch.
+
+### Syntax
+This repository uses Sphinx to publish a ReadTheDocs site at https://ngff.openmicroscopy.org in the [Sphinx Book Theme](https://sphinx-book-theme.readthedocs.io/en/stable/).
+
+[MyST](https://myst-parser.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) syntax can be used in addition to basic Markdown and HTML.
+
+### Configuration
+Edit [conf.py](./conf.py) with options from the [Sphinx Book Theme](https://sphinx-book-theme.readthedocs.io/en/stable/). The [PyData Sphinx Theme](https://pydata-sphinx-theme.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user_guide) user guide may also have more up to date instructions for configuration properties.
+
+### Previews
+Each PR receives a unique preview URL of the format `https://ngff--<PR#>.org.readthedocs.build/` where `<PR#>` is the PR number. This link is also posted to each PR by the Github actions bot in an "Automated Review URLs" comment as the "Readthedocs" link.
+
+Please check that your changes render correctly at this URL. New commits will automatically be live at the PR url after a few minutes.
+
+## Contributing to OME
+(contributing:ome)=
+
+Detailed guidance for contributing developers is available at
+[https://docs.openmicroscopy.org/contributing/](https://docs.openmicroscopy.org/contributing/)