diff --git a/templates/zerver/api/deploying-bots.md b/templates/zerver/api/deploying-bots.md
index 2a5e38beec..8edfc191ff 100644
--- a/templates/zerver/api/deploying-bots.md
+++ b/templates/zerver/api/deploying-bots.md
@@ -216,3 +216,31 @@ running it manually.
The standard output of the Botserver will be logged to the path in
your *supervisord* configuration.
+
+If you are hosting the Botserver yourself (as opposed to using a
+hosting service that provides SSL), we recommend securing your
+Botserver with SSL using an `nginx` or `Apache` reverse proxy and
+[Certbot](https://certbot.eff.org/).
+
+### Troubleshooting
+
+1. Make sure the API key you're using is for an [Outgoing webhook
+ bot](https://zulipchat.com/api/outgoing-webhooks) and you've
+ correctly configured the URL for your Botserver.
+
+1. Your Botserver needs to be accessible from your Zulip server over
+ HTTP(S). Make sure any firewall allows the connection. We
+ recommend using [zulip-run-bot](running-bots) instead for
+ development/testing on a laptop or other non-server system.
+
+ If your Zulip server is self-hosted, you can test by running `curl
+ http://zulipbotserver.example.com:5002` from your Zulip server;
+ the output should be:
+
+ ```
+ $ curl http://zulipbotserver.example.com:5002/
+
+ 405 Method Not Allowed
+ Method Not Allowed
+ The method is not allowed for the requested URL.
+ ```