add extra information to contributing guidelines

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -3,10 +3,19 @@
 
 Contributions are welcome and always appreciated!
 
+To begin working on an issue, simply leave a comment indicating that you're taking it on. There's no need to be officially assigned to the issue before you start.
+
+### Before Starting
 Do keep in mind before you start working on an issue / posting a PR:
 - Search existing PRs related to that issue which might close them
 - Confirm if other contributors are working on the same issue
 
+### Tips & Things to Consider
+- We are active in Discord and can help out if you get stuck, [join us!](https://responsively.app/join-discord)
+- PRs with tests are highly appreciated
+- Avoid adding third party libraries, whenever possible
+- Unless you are helping out by updating dependencies, you should not be uploading your yarn.lock or updating any dependencies in your PR
+
 ## Run Locally
 Ensure you have the following dependencies installed:
 - Install `node` and `yarn`