diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 88a518475c..1d90e01d00 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ for a friendly and welcoming collaborative environment.
 Note: You will need NodeJS to build the extension package.
 
 The `jlpm` command is JupyterLab's pinned version of [yarn](https://yarnpkg.com/) that is installed with JupyterLab. You may use
-`yarn` or `npm` in lieu of `jlpm` below.
+`yarn` or `npm`, in lieu of `jlpm` below.
 
 **Note**: we recommend using `mamba` to speed the creating of the environment.
 
@@ -30,9 +30,24 @@ jlpm develop
 # Enable the server extension
 jupyter server extension enable notebook
 ```
+### Set Up a Python Virtual Environment:
+As the Jupyter Notebook includes a Jupyter Server extension written in Python, it's recommended to create a virtual environment. You can use the `venv` module for this:
+```bash
+python -m venv venv
+source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows, use: venv\Scripts\activate
+```
+After setting up the environment (either with mamba or venv), you'll need to handle the JavaScript dependencies:
 
+Install NodeJS Dependencies:
+If you're using `yarn`:
+```bash
+yarn install
+```
+If you're using `npm`:
+```bash
+npm install
+```
 `notebook` follows a monorepo structure. To build all the packages at once:
-
 ```bash
 jlpm build
 ```