diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index babe3c9..ce73cbd 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -1,14 +1,2 @@
-Want to contribute? Great! Make sure you've read, understood and considered all
-the points below before creating your PR:
-
-- Keep your PR under 200 lines of code and address a single concern.
-- Add unit test(s) and documentation (these do not count toward your 200 lines).
-- Adhere to the [Google C++ Style Guide](https://google.github.io/styleguide/cppguide.html).
-- Run `ninja test` or `catkin_make_isolated --install --use-ninja --pkg cartographer --make-args test` as appropriate.
-- Keep rebasing (or merging) of master branch to a minimum. It triggers Travis
-  runs for every update which blocks merging of other changes. Our merge bot
-  will rebase your branch, reformat your source code and merge as the last step
-  in the review process.
-- Please replace this template text with the commit message you want for your
-  PR. You and/or the reviewer should keep it updated during the course of the
-  review using the GitHub edit feature.
+Want to contribute? Great! Make sure you've read and understood
+[CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/cartographer-project/cartographer/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md).
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 35894fc..8495b52 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -27,4 +27,25 @@ You can sign-off a commit via `git commit -s`.
 ### Code reviews
 
 All submissions, including submissions by project members, require review.
-We use GitHub pull requests for this purpose.
+We use GitHub pull requests for this purpose. Make sure you've read,
+understood and considered all the points below before creating your PR.
+
+#### Style guide
+
+C++ code should adhere to the
+[Google C++ Style Guide](https://google.github.io/styleguide/cppguide.html).
+You can handle the formatting part of the style guide via `git clang-format`.
+
+#### Best practices
+
+When preparing your PR and also during the code review make sure to follow
+[best practices](https://google.github.io/eng-practices/review/developer/).
+Most importantly, keep your PR under 200 lines of code and address a single
+concern.
+
+#### Testing
+
+- Add unit tests and documentation (these do not count toward your 200 lines).
+- Run `ninja test` or `catkin_make_isolated --install --use-ninja --pkg cartographer --make-args test` as appropriate.
+- Keep rebasing (or merging) of master branch to a minimum. It triggers Travis
+  runs for every update which blocks merging of other changes.