diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 237712734..be042e095 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ The app can be configured with the following environment variables.
 | ---------------------- | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | `AUTH_REQUIRED`        | false                 | Set to `true` to require authentication for creating new polls and accessing admin pages                                                        |
 | `ALLOWED_EMAILS`       |                       | Comma separated list of email addresses that are allowed to register and login. Wildcard characters are supported. Example: `*@yourcompany.com` |
+| `DATABASE_URL`         |                       | Postgres database connection string                                                                                                             |
 | `DISABLE_LANDING_PAGE` | false                 | Whether or not to disable the landing page                                                                                                      |
 | `NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL` | http://localhost:3000 | The base url where this instance is accessible, including the scheme (eg. `http://` or `https://`), the domain name, and optionally a port.     |
 | `SECRET_PASSWORD`      |                       | A random 32-character secret key used to encrypt user sessions                                                                                  |
diff --git a/sample.env b/sample.env
index 761518c96..b4dbc7c7e 100644
--- a/sample.env
+++ b/sample.env
@@ -1,9 +1,36 @@
+# REQUIRED CONFIG
+
+# A random 32-character secret key used to encrypt user sessions
+SECRET_PASSWORD=
+# The base url where this instance is accessible, including the scheme.
+# Example: https://example.com
 NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000
-DATABASE_URL=postgres://your-database/db
-SECRET_PASSWORD=minimum-32-characters
-SUPPORT_EMAIL=foo@yourdomain.com
-SMTP_HOST=your-smtp-server
-SMTP_PORT=587
+# A connection string to your Postgres database
+DATABASE_URL=
+
+# EMAIL CONFIG (required for sending emails)
+
+# All outgoing emails will show this email as the sender's email address, which also serves as the support email.
+SUPPORT_EMAIL=
+# The host address of your SMTP server
+SMTP_HOST=localhost
+# The port of your SMTP server
+SMTP_PORT=25
+# Set to "true" if SSL is enabled for your SMTP connection
 SMTP_SECURE=false
-SMTP_USER=your-smtp-user
-SMTP_PWD=your-smtp-password
+# The username (if auth is enabled on your SMTP server)
+SMTP_USER=
+# The password (if auth is enabled on your SMTP server)
+SMTP_PWD=
+
+# OPTIONAL CONFIG
+
+# Set to `true` to require authentication for creating new polls and accessing admin pages
+AUTH_REQUIRED=false
+# Comma separated list of email addresses that are allowed to register and login.
+# You can use wildcard syntax to match a range of email addresses.
+# Example: "john@example.com,jane@example.com" or "*@example.com"
+ALLOWED_EMAILS=
+# Whether or not to disable the landing page
+DISABLE_LANDING_PAGE=false
+