diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6a24e447..78b8400c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -20,11 +20,7 @@ Demo installation: https://gochan.org
 5. Go to http://[gochan url]/manage?action=staff, log in (default username/password is admin/password), and create a new admin user (and any other staff users as necessary). Then delete the admin user for security.
 
 ## Configuration
-1. Make sure to set `DBtype`, `DBhost`, `DBname`, `DBusername`, and `DBpassword`, since these are required to connect to your SQL database. Valid `DBtype` values are "mysql" and "postgres" (sqlite3 is no longer supported for stability reasons).
-	1. To connect to a MySQL database, set `DBhost` to "ip:3306" or a different port, if necessary.
-	2. To connect to a PostgreSQL database, set `DBhost` to the IP address or hostname. Using a UNIX socket may work as well, but it is currently untested.
-2. Set `DomainRegex`,`SiteDomain`, since these are necessary in order to post and log in as a staff member.
-3. If you want to see debugging info/noncritical warnings, set verbosity to 1.
+See [config.md](config.md)
 
 ## Installation using Docker
 See [`docker/README.md`](docker/README.md)
diff --git a/cmd/gochan/server.go b/cmd/gochan/server.go
index 665a1be7..3efa2f76 100755
--- a/cmd/gochan/server.go
+++ b/cmd/gochan/server.go
@@ -130,7 +130,11 @@ func initServer() {
 	server.namespaces = make(map[string]func(http.ResponseWriter, *http.Request))
 
 	// Check if Akismet API key is usable at startup.
-	if err = serverutil.CheckAkismetAPIKey(siteConfig.AkismetAPIKey); err != nil {
+	err = serverutil.CheckAkismetAPIKey(siteConfig.AkismetAPIKey)
+	if err == serverutil.ErrBlankAkismetKey {
+		gclog.Print(gclog.LErrorLog, err.Error(), ". Akismet spam protection won't be used.")
+	} else if err != nil {
+		gclog.Print(gclog.LErrorLog|gclog.LAccessLog, ". Akismet spam protection will be disabled.")
 		siteConfig.AkismetAPIKey = ""
 	}
 
@@ -144,8 +148,8 @@ func initServer() {
 			http.Redirect(writer, request, "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ", http.StatusFound)
 		}
 	}
-	// Eventually plugins will be able to register new namespaces (assuming they ever get it working on Windows or macOS)
-	// or they will be restricted to something like /plugin
+	// Eventually plugins will be able to register new namespaces or they will be restricted to something
+	// like /plugin
 
 	if systemCritical.UseFastCGI {
 		err = fcgi.Serve(listener, server)
diff --git a/config.md b/config.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..726d8476
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# gochan configuration
+See [gochan.example.json](sample-configs/gochan.example.json) for an example gochan.json.
+
+## Server-critical stuff
+* You'll need to edit some of the values (like `ListenIP` and `UseFastCGI` based on your system's setup. For an example nginx configuration, see [gochan-fastcgi.nginx](sample-configs/gochan-fastcgi.nginx) for FastCGI and [gochan-http.nginx](sample-configs/gochan-http.nginx) for passing through HTTP.
+* `DocumentRoot` refers to the root directory on your filesystem where gochan will look for requested files.
+* `TemplateDir` refers to the directory where gochan will load the templates from.
+* `LogDir` refers to the directory where gochan will write the logs to.
+
+**Make sure gochan has read-write permission for `DocumentRoot` and `LogDir` and read permission for `TemplateDir`**
+
+## Database configuration
+Valid `DBtype` values are "mysql" and "postgres" (sqlite3 is no longer supported for stability reasons, though that may or may not come back).
+1. To connect to a MySQL database, set `DBhost` to "x.x.x.x:3306" (replacing x.x.x.x with your database server's IP or domain) or a different port, if necessary. You can also use a UNIX socket if you have it set up, like "unix(/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock)".
+2. To connect to a PostgreSQL database, set `DBhost` to the IP address or hostname. Using a UNIX socket may work as well, but it is currently untested.
+3. Set `SiteDomain`, since these are necessary in order to post and log in as a staff member.
+3. If you want to see debugging info/noncritical warnings, set verbosity to 1.
+4. If `DBprefix` is set (not required), all gochan table names will be prefixed with the `DBprefix` value. Once you run gochan for the first time, you really shouldn't edit this value, since gochan will assume the tables are missing.
+
+## Website configuration
+* `SiteName` is used for the name displayed on the home page.
+* `SiteSlogan` is used for the slogan (if set) on the home page.
+* `SiteDomain` is used for links throughout the site.
+* `WebRoot` is used as the prefix for boards, files, and pretty much everything on the site. If it isn't set, "/" will be used.
+
+## Styles
+* `Styles` is an array, with each element representing a theme selectable by the user from the frontend settings screen. Each element should have `Name` string value and a `Filename` string value. Example:
+```JSON
+"Styles": [
+	{ "Name": "Pipes", "Filename": "pipes.css" }
+]
+```
+* If `DefaultStyle` is not set, the first element in `Styles` will be used.
+
+## Misc
+* `ReservedTrips` is used for reserving secure tripcodes. It should be an array of strings. For example, if you have `abcd##ABCD` and someone posts with the name ##abcd, their name will instead show up as !!ABCD on the site.
+* `BanColors` is used for the color of the text set by `BanMessage`, and can be used for setting per-user colors, if desired. It should be a string array, with each element being of the form `"username:color"`, where color is a valid HTML color (#000A0, green, etc) and username is the staff member who set the ban. If a color isn't set for the user, the style will be used to set the color.
diff --git a/pkg/building/building.go b/pkg/building/building.go
index 4d0e77f4..df8e7cca 100644
--- a/pkg/building/building.go
+++ b/pkg/building/building.go
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ func BuildFrontPage() error {
 		"site_config":  siteCfg,
 		"sections":     gcsql.AllSections,
 		"boards":       gcsql.AllBoards,
+		"board_config": config.GetBoardConfig(""),
 		"recent_posts": recentPostsArr,
 	}, frontFile, "text/html"); err != nil {
 		return errors.New(gclog.Print(gclog.LErrorLog,
diff --git a/pkg/config/config.go b/pkg/config/config.go
index 9bcbebfd..38e433ea 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config.go
@@ -47,10 +47,10 @@ var (
 		"PostsPerThreadPage":       50,
 		"RepliesOnBoardPage":       3,
 		"StickyRepliesOnBoardPage": 1,
-		"BanMsg":                   "USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST",
+		"BanMessage":               "USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST",
 		"EmbedWidth":               200,
 		"EmbedHeight":              164,
-		"ExpandButton":             true,
+		"EnableEmbeds":             true,
 		"ImagesOpenNewTab":         true,
 		"NewTabOnOutlinks":         true,
 
@@ -194,8 +194,8 @@ func (gcfg *GochanConfig) ValidateValues() error {
 		gcfg.StickyRepliesOnBoardPage = defaults["StickyRepliesOnBoardPage"].(int)
 		changed = true
 	}
-	if gcfg.BanMsg == "" {
-		gcfg.BanMsg = defaults["BanMsg"].(string)
+	if gcfg.BanMessage == "" {
+		gcfg.BanMessage = defaults["BanMessage"].(string)
 		changed = true
 	}
 	if gcfg.DateTimeFormat == "" {
@@ -341,10 +341,10 @@ type PostConfig struct {
 	StickyRepliesOnBoardPage int `description:"Same as above for stickied threads."`
 
 	BanColors        []string
-	BanMsg           string `description:"The default public ban message."`
+	BanMessage       string `description:"The default public ban message."`
 	EmbedWidth       int    `description:"The width for inline/expanded videos."`
 	EmbedHeight      int    `description:"The height for inline/expanded videos."`
-	ExpandButton     bool   `description:"If checked, adds [Embed] after a Youtube, Vimeo, etc link to toggle an inline video frame."`
+	EnableEmbeds     bool   `description:"If checked, adds [Embed] after a Youtube, Vimeo, etc link to toggle an inline video frame."`
 	ImagesOpenNewTab bool   `description:"If checked, thumbnails will open the respective image/video in a new tab instead of expanding them." `
 	NewTabOnOutlinks bool   `description:"If checked, links to external sites will open in a new tab."`
 	DisableBBcode    bool   `description:"If checked, gochan will not compile bbcode into HTML"`
diff --git a/pkg/config/jsonvars_test.go b/pkg/config/jsonvars_test.go
index 85444a9a..a938faf4 100644
--- a/pkg/config/jsonvars_test.go
+++ b/pkg/config/jsonvars_test.go
@@ -87,10 +87,10 @@ const (
 		"PostsPerThreadPage": 50,
 		"RepliesOnBoardPage": 3,
 		"StickyRepliesOnBoardPage": 1,
-		"BanMsg": "USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST",
+		"BanMessage": "USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST",
 		"EmbedWidth": 200,
 		"EmbedHeight": 164,
-		"ExpandButton": true,
+		"EnableEmbeds": true,
 		"ImagesOpenNewTab": true,
 		"MakeURLsHyperlinked": true,
 		"NewTabOnOutlinks": true,
diff --git a/pkg/manage/actions.go b/pkg/manage/actions.go
index 96300aa7..c54b31e5 100644
--- a/pkg/manage/actions.go
+++ b/pkg/manage/actions.go
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ var actions = map[string]Action{
 			// 			boardCfg.StickyRepliesOnBoardPage = StickyRepliesOnBoardPage
 			// 		}
 
-			// 		boardCfg.BanMsg = request.PostFormValue("BanMsg")
+			// 		boardCfg.BanMessage = request.PostFormValue("BanMessage")
 			// 		EmbedWidth, err := strconv.Atoi(request.PostFormValue("EmbedWidth"))
 			// 		if err != nil {
 			// 			status += err.Error() + "<br />"
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ var actions = map[string]Action{
 			// 			boardCfg.EmbedHeight = EmbedHeight
 			// 		}
 
-			// 		boardCfg.ExpandButton = (request.PostFormValue("ExpandButton") == "on")
+			// 		boardCfg.EnableEmbeds = (request.PostFormValue("EnableEmbeds") == "on")
 			// 		boardCfg.ImagesOpenNewTab = (request.PostFormValue("ImagesOpenNewTab") == "on")
 			// 		boardCfg.NewTabOnOutlinks = (request.PostFormValue("NewTabOnOutlinks") == "on")
 			// 		boardCfg.DateTimeFormat = request.PostFormValue("DateTimeFormat")
diff --git a/pkg/serverutil/antispam.go b/pkg/serverutil/antispam.go
index e5937f44..8a86d87e 100644
--- a/pkg/serverutil/antispam.go
+++ b/pkg/serverutil/antispam.go
@@ -11,10 +11,15 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gochan-org/gochan/pkg/gclog"
 )
 
+var (
+	ErrBlankAkismetKey   = errors.New("blank Akismet key")
+	ErrInvalidAkismetKey = errors.New("invalid Akismet key")
+)
+
 // CheckAkismetAPIKey checks the validity of the Akismet API key given in the config file.
 func CheckAkismetAPIKey(key string) error {
 	if key == "" {
-		return errors.New("blank key given, Akismet spam checking won't be used")
+		return ErrBlankAkismetKey
 	}
 	resp, err := http.PostForm("https://rest.akismet.com/1.1/verify-key", url.Values{"key": {key}, "blog": {"http://" + config.GetSystemCriticalConfig().SiteDomain}})
 	if err != nil {
@@ -30,9 +35,7 @@ func CheckAkismetAPIKey(key string) error {
 	}
 	if string(body) == "invalid" {
 		// This should disable the Akismet checks if the API key is not valid.
-		errmsg := "Akismet API key is invalid, Akismet spam protection will be disabled."
-		gclog.Print(gclog.LErrorLog, errmsg)
-		return errors.New(errmsg)
+		return ErrInvalidAkismetKey
 	}
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/sample-configs/gochan.example.json b/sample-configs/gochan.example.json
index 7bdf0dcf..2b532688 100644
--- a/sample-configs/gochan.example.json
+++ b/sample-configs/gochan.example.json
@@ -68,10 +68,10 @@
 		"admin:#0000A0",
 		"somemod:blue"
 	],
-	"BanMsg": "USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST",
+	"BanMessage": "USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST",
+	"EnableEmbeds": true,
 	"EmbedWidth": 200,
 	"EmbedHeight": 164,
-	"ExpandButton": true,
 	"ImagesOpenNewTab": true,
 	"NewTabOnOutlinks": true,