diff --git a/backend/README.md b/backend/README.md
index 9d3d3b8..820aad3 100644
--- a/backend/README.md
+++ b/backend/README.md
@@ -31,3 +31,15 @@ Backend startup quickstart:
         make poller — Builds and runs the poller.
         make poller-dev — Runs the poller with auto-reload.
 
+## Production: `make build` + restart service
+
+On the server, from this directory:
+
+- **`make build`** — writes fresh **`bin/api`** and **`bin/poller`** (see the Makefile).
+- **`make build-api`** — API only; **`make build-poller`** — poller only.
+
+Building alone does **not** reload a process that is already listening (e.g. on port 8080). After deploy:
+
+1. Ensure **`systemctl`** (or your supervisor) **`ExecStart`** runs the binary you just built (e.g. **`.../backend/bin/api`**) or copy `bin/api` to that path.
+2. **`sudo systemctl restart <your-api-service>`** (and the poller service if you rebuilt it).
+3. Optional check: **`readlink -f /proc/<pid>/exe`** should show your **`bin/api`** path without **`(deleted)`** — if you see `(deleted)`, an old process is still running the previous binary from memory.