diff --git a/guides/getting-started/forking-solidus.md b/guides/getting-started/forking-solidus.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..07962536187
--- /dev/null
+++ b/guides/getting-started/forking-solidus.md
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Forking Solidus
+
+If your store requires deep customizations to Solidus's core functionality, you
+may want to fork Solidus for your store where you can more freely implement your
+features.
+
+Note that this can complicate your Solidus upgrade process or can break other
+Solidus extensions you may wish to use.
+
+The benefit of using a fork of Solidus is that you can test your new features
+with Solidus's test suite and ensure your development has not broken Solidus's
+existing functionality.
+
+You can reference a fork of Solidus in your `Gemfile` this way:
+
+```ruby
+gem 'solidus', git: 'https://github.com/my_account/solidus.git', branch: "my-new-feature"
+```
+
+If you think your feature (or fix) is of interest to the wider Solidus
+community, [consider making a pull request][contributing].
+
+[contributing]: https://github.com/solidusio/solidus/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
+
+## Create a "private fork"
+
+If your organization needs to work in a private repository for any reason,
+forking Solidus becomes slightly more complicated. GitHub does not allow you to
+create private forks of public repositories. Instead, you can duplicate the
+repository. See GitHub's [Duplicating a repository][duplicating] article for
+more information.
+
+[duplicating]: https://help.github.com/articles/duplicating-a-repository/
diff --git a/guides/getting-started/private-solidus-fork.md b/guides/getting-started/private-solidus-fork.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 668ef7d0836..00000000000
--- a/guides/getting-started/private-solidus-fork.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-# Private Solidus fork
-
-If your store requires deep customizations to Solidus's core functionality, you
-may want to fork Solidus for your store where you can more freely implement your
-features.
-
-Note that this can complicate your Solidus upgrade process or can break other
-Solidus extensions you may wish to use.
-
-The benefit of a private fork is that you can test your new features with
-Solidus's test suite and ensure your development has not broken Solidus's
-existing functionality.
-
-You can reference a private fork of Solidus in your `Gemfile` this way:
-
-```ruby
-gem 'solidus', git: 'https://github.com/my_account/solidus.git', branch: "my-new-feature"
-```
-
-If you think your feature (or fix) if of interest to the wider Solidus
-community, [consider making a pull request][contributing].
-
-[contributing]: https://github.com/solidusio/solidus/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
diff --git a/guides/preferences/add-model-preferences.md b/guides/preferences/add-model-preferences.md
index 8d4099be2c7..a7080c71dc3 100644
--- a/guides/preferences/add-model-preferences.md
+++ b/guides/preferences/add-model-preferences.md
@@ -45,8 +45,30 @@ types are:
 An optional default value may be defined. (See the `:dark_chocolate` preference
 in the block above.) This is the value used unless another value has been set. 
 
-Once you have set preferences, you can access their values from the object
-they're set on:
+### Add columns for your preferences
+
+In order for your new preferences to persist, you need to add a column to the
+relevant model using a migration:
+
+```ruby
+class AddPreferencesToSubscriptionRules < ActiveRecord::Migration[5.0]
+  def change
+    add_column :my_store_subscription_rules, :preferences, :text
+  end
+end
+```
+
+Your new `preferences` column should be the type `text`.
+
+Then, you can run the migration:
+
+```shell
+bundle exec rails db:migrate
+```
+
+### Access your preferences
+
+Now you can access their values from the model they are set on:
 
 ```ruby
 MyStore::SubscriptionRules.find(1).preferences
diff --git a/guides/preferences/app-configuration.md b/guides/preferences/app-configuration.md
index e8af58e5181..a0a845555be 100644
--- a/guides/preferences/app-configuration.md
+++ b/guides/preferences/app-configuration.md
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-# App configuration 
+# App configuration
 
 Solidus includes many preferences with default settings that are appropriate for
-typical stores.  For a list of Solidus's preferences their default values, see
-the [`Spree::AppConfiguration` documentation][app-configuration-documentation].
-The [`Spree::AppConfiguration` class][app-configuration-class] is where all of
-Solidus's preferences are defined. 
+typical stores. For a list of Solidus's preferences and their default values,
+see the [`Spree::AppConfiguration`
+documentation][app-configuration-documentation].  The [`Spree::AppConfiguration`
+class][app-configuration-class] is where all of Solidus's preferences are
+defined.
 
 The built-in preferences are well-tested options that allow you to implement
 complex ecommerce behaviors.
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ initializers. Some default preferences are explicitly set in the initializer at
 `config/initializers/spree.rb`.
 
 In this file's first `Spree.config` block, the `currency` and `mails_from`
-preferences are given default values you may want to modify: 
+preferences are given default values you may want to modify:
 
 ```ruby
 # /config/initializers/spree.rb
@@ -67,4 +68,3 @@ Spree::Config.currency
 [app-configuration-model]: https://github.com/solidusio/solidus/blob/master/core/lib/spree/app_configuration.rb
 [app-configuration-documentation]: http://docs.solidus.io/Spree/AppConfiguration.html
 [rails-engines]: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/engines.html
-