diff --git a/website/docs/configuration/terraform.html.md b/website/docs/configuration/terraform.html.md
index 1f1391c18..7141833ab 100644
--- a/website/docs/configuration/terraform.html.md
+++ b/website/docs/configuration/terraform.html.md
@@ -1,85 +1,119 @@
 ---
 layout: "docs"
-page_title: "Configuring Terraform"
+page_title: "Configuring Terraform Settings"
 sidebar_current: "docs-config-terraform"
 description: |-
-  The `terraform` configuration section is used to configure Terraform itself, such as requiring a minimum Terraform version to execute a configuration.
+  The "terraform" configuration section is used to configure some behaviors
+  of Terraform itself.
 ---
 
-# Terraform Configuration
+# Terraform Settings
 
-The `terraform` configuration section is used to configure Terraform itself,
-such as requiring a minimum Terraform version to execute a configuration.
+The special `terraform` configuration block type is used to configure some
+behaviors of Terraform itself, such as requiring a minimum Terraform version to
+apply your configuration.
 
-This page assumes you're familiar with the
-[configuration syntax](/docs/configuration/syntax.html)
-already.
+## Terraform Block Syntax
 
-## Example
-
-Terraform configuration looks like the following:
+Terraform-specific settings are gathered together into `terraform` blocks:
 
 ```hcl
 terraform {
-  required_version = "> 0.7.0"
+  # ...
 }
 ```
 
-## Description
+Each `terraform` block can contain a number of settings related to Terraform's
+behavior. Within a `terraform` block, only constant values can be used;
+arguments may not refer to named objects such as resources, input variables,
+etc, and may not use any of the Terraform language built-in functions.
 
-The `terraform` block configures the behavior of Terraform itself.
+The various options supported within a `terraform` block are described in the
+following sections.
 
-The currently only allowed configurations within this block are
-`required_version` and `backend`.
+## Configuring a Terraform Backend
 
-`required_version` specifies a set of version constraints
-that must be met to perform operations on this configuration. If the
-running Terraform version doesn't meet these constraints, an error
-is shown. See the section below dedicated to this option.
+The selected _backend_ for a Terraform configuration defines exactly where
+and how operations are performed, where [state](/docs/state/index.html) is
+stored, etc. Most non-trivial Terraform configurations will have a backend
+configuration that configures a remote backend to allow collaboration within
+a team.
 
-See [backends](/docs/backends/index.html) for more detail on the `backend`
-configuration.
+A backend configuration is given in a nested `backend` block within a
+`terraform` block:
 
-**No value within the `terraform` block can use interpolations.** The
-`terraform` block is loaded very early in the execution of Terraform
-and interpolations are not yet available.
+```hcl
+terraform {
+  backend "s3" {
+    # (backend-specific settings...)
+  }
+}
+```
+
+More information on backend configuration can be found in
+[the _Backends_ section](/docs/backends/index.html).
 
 ## Specifying a Required Terraform Version
 
-The `required_version` setting can be used to require a specific version
-of Terraform. If the running version of Terraform doesn't match the
-constraints specified, Terraform will show an error and exit.
+The `required_version` setting can be used to constrain which versions of
+Terraform Core can be used with your configuration. If the running version of
+Terraform doesn't match the constraints specified, Terraform will produce
+an error and exit without taking any further actions.
 
-When [modules](/docs/configuration/modules.html) are used, all Terraform
-version requirements specified by the complete module tree must be
-satisified. This means that the `required_version` setting can be used
-by a module to require that all consumers of a module also use a specific
-version.
+When you use [child modules](/docs/configuration/modules.html), each module
+can specify its own version requirements. The requirements of all modules
+in the tree must be satisfied.
 
-The value of this configuration is a comma-separated list of constraints.
-A constraint is an operator followed by a version, such as `> 0.7.0`.
-Constraints support the following operations:
+Use Terraform Core version constraints in a collaborative environment to
+ensure that everyone is using a spceific Terraform version, or using at least
+a minimum Terraform version that has behavior expected by the configuration.
 
-- `=` (or no operator): exact version equality
+The `required_version` setting applies only to the version of Terraform Core.
+Various behaviors of Terraform are actually implemented by Terraform Providers,
+which are released on a cycle independent to Terraform Core and to each other.
+Use [provider version constraints](/docs/configuration/providers.html#provider-versions)
+to make similar constraints on which provider versions may be used.
 
-- `!=`: version not equal
+The value for `required_version` is a string containing a comma-separated
+list of constraints. Each constraint is an operator followed by a version
+number, such as `> 0.12.0`. The following constraint operators are allowed:
 
-- `>`, `>=`, `<`, `<=`: version comparison, where "greater than" is a larger
+* `=` (or no operator): exact version equality
+
+* `!=`: version not equal
+
+* `>`, `>=`, `<`, `<=`: version comparison, where "greater than" is a larger
   version number
 
-- `~>`: pessimistic constraint operator. Example: for `~> 0.9`, this means
-  `>= 0.9, < 1.0`. Example: for `~> 0.8.4`, this means `>= 0.8.4, < 0.9`
+* `~>`: pessimistic constraint operator, constraining both the oldest and
+  newest version allowed. For example, `~> 0.9` is equivalent to
+  `>= 0.9, < 1.0`, and `~> 0.8.4`, is equivalent to `>= 0.8.4, < 0.9`
 
-For modules, a minimum version is recommended, such as `> 0.8.0`. This
-minimum version ensures that a module operates as expected, but gives
-the consumer flexibility to use newer versions.
+Re-usable modules should constrain only the minimum allowed version, such
+as `>= 0.12.0`. This specifies the earliest version that the module is
+compatible with while leaving the user of the module flexibility to upgrade
+to newer versions of Terraform without altering the module.
 
-## Syntax
+## Specifying Required Provider Versions
 
-The full syntax is:
+The `required_providers` setting is a map specifying a version constraint for
+each provider required by your configuration.
 
-```text
+This is one of several ways to define
+[provider version constraints](/docs/configuration/providers.html#provider-versions),
+and is particularly suited to re-usable modules that expect a provider
+configuration to be provided by their caller but still need to impose a
+minimum version for that provider.
+
+```hcl
 terraform {
-  required_version = VALUE
+  required_providers = {
+    aws = ">= 1.0.0"
+  }
 }
 ```
+
+Re-usable modules should constrain only the minimum allowed version, such
+as `>= 1.0.0`. This specifies the earliest version that the module is
+compatible with while leaving the user of the module flexibility to upgrade
+to newer versions of the provider without altering the module.