diff --git a/lib/config.ts b/lib/config.ts
index e94a75a..ca0c68f 100644
--- a/lib/config.ts
+++ b/lib/config.ts
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ export const includeNotionIdInUrls: boolean = getSiteConfig(
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 // Optional redis instance for persisting preview images
+export const isRedisEnabled: boolean = getSiteConfig('isRedisEnabled', false)
+
 // (if you want to enable redis, only REDIS_HOST and REDIS_PASSWORD are required)
 // we recommend that you store these in a local `.env` file
 export const redisHost: string | null = getEnv('REDIS_HOST', null)
diff --git a/lib/db.ts b/lib/db.ts
index 3df4bf9..fb29419 100644
--- a/lib/db.ts
+++ b/lib/db.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,12 @@
 import Keyv from 'keyv'
 
-import {
-  isPreviewImageSupportEnabled,
-  redisUrl,
-  redisNamespace
-} from './config'
+import { isRedisEnabled, redisUrl, redisNamespace } from './config'
 
 let db: Keyv
-if (isPreviewImageSupportEnabled) {
+if (isRedisEnabled) {
   db = new Keyv(redisUrl, { namespace: redisNamespace || undefined })
+} else {
+  db = new Keyv()
 }
 
 export { db }
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 5dfc75c..801c5df 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -65,6 +65,27 @@ See [mapPageUrl](./lib/map-page-url.ts) and [getCanonicalPageId](https://github.
 
 NOTE: if you have multiple pages in your workspace with the same slugified name, the app will throw an error letting you know that there are duplicate URL pathnames.
 
+## Preview Images
+
+<p align="center">
+  <img alt="Example preview image" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/552829/160142320-35343317-aa9e-4710-bcf7-67e5cdec586d.gif" width="458">
+</p>
+
+We use [next/image](https://nextjs.org/docs/api-reference/next/image) to serve optimal images, with optional preview images generated via [lqip-modern](https://github.com/transitive-bullshit/lqip-modern). This gives us extremely optimized image support for sexy smooth images.
+
+Preview images are **enabled by default**, but they can be slow to generate, so if you want to disable them, set `isPreviewImageSupportEnabled` to `false` in `site.config.js`.
+
+If you want to cache generated preview images to speed up subsequent builds, you'll need to first set up an external [Redis](https://redis.io) data store. To enable redis caching, set `isRedisEnabled` to `true` in `site.config.js` and then set `REDIS_HOST` and `REDIS_PASSWORD` environment variables to point to your redis instance.
+
+You can do this locally adding a `.env` file:
+
+```bash
+REDIS_HOST='TODO'
+REDIS_PASSWORD='TODO'
+```
+
+Note that support for preview images and redis caching are both optional. If you’d rather not deal with them, just disable them in your site config.
+
 ## Theming
 
 All CSS styles that customize Notion content are located in [styles/notion.css](./styles/notion.css).
diff --git a/site.config.js b/site.config.js
index b917337..3280c74 100644
--- a/site.config.js
+++ b/site.config.js
@@ -28,10 +28,13 @@ export default {
   defaultPageCoverPosition: 0.5,
 
   // whether or not to enable support for LQIP preview images (optional)
-  // NOTE: this requires you to set up an external key-value store and add the
-  // environment variables specified in .env.example
   isPreviewImageSupportEnabled: true,
 
+  // whether or not redis is enabled for caching generated preview images (optional)
+  // NOTE: if you enable redis, you need to set the `REDIS_HOST` and `REDIS_PASSWORD`
+  // environment variables. see the readme for more info
+  isRedisEnabled: false,
+
   // map of notion page IDs to URL paths (optional)
   // any pages defined here will override their default URL paths
   // example: