diff --git a/.changeset/grumpy-yaks-travel.md b/.changeset/grumpy-yaks-travel.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cb17d76d52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/grumpy-yaks-travel.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/cli': patch
+---
+
+Minor update to the `index.html` template that updates the comment at the end to be more accurate.
diff --git a/.changeset/tall-mugs-shake.md b/.changeset/tall-mugs-shake.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1f4104804
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/tall-mugs-shake.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+'@backstage/create-app': patch
+---
+
+The `build` script in the root `package.json` has been split into two separate scripts, `build:backend` and `build:all`. This is to more accurately reflect what is being built, to avoid confusion.
+
+If you want to build the project for a production deployment, you will want to use `build:backend`, as this builds both the frontend and backend package. If you are not using the `app-backend` plugin you will want to add your own `build:frontend` script, to which you can pass additional configuration parameters if needed.
+
+The `build:all` script is useful if you simply want to check that it is possible to build all packages in the project. This might be useful as a CI check, but is generally unnecessary.
+
+If you want to publish the packages in your repository you can add a `build:packages` script that calls `backstage-cli repo build`. This will skip the frontend and backend packages builds, as those are quite time consuming.
+
+To apply these changes to an existing project, make the following change to the root `package.json` file:
+
+```diff
+-    "build": "backstage-cli repo build --all",
++    "build:backend": "yarn workspace backend build",
++    "build:all": "backstage-cli repo build --all",
+```
+
+There are also a couple of places where documentation has been updated, see the [upgrade helper](https://backstage.github.io/upgrade-helper/?to=1.8.0) for a full list of changes.
diff --git a/contrib/docs/tutorials/aws-deployment.md b/contrib/docs/tutorials/aws-deployment.md
index 3a76da2ed3..a767d292bf 100644
--- a/contrib/docs/tutorials/aws-deployment.md
+++ b/contrib/docs/tutorials/aws-deployment.md
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ image](https://backstage.io/docs/getting-started/deployment-docker)
 documentation to build a new Backstage Docker image:
 
 ```shell
-$ yarn build
+$ yarn build:backend
 $ yarn build-image --tag backstage
 ```
 
diff --git a/cypress/README.md b/cypress/README.md
index 15338fe371..4212af398c 100644
--- a/cypress/README.md
+++ b/cypress/README.md
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ necessary environment variables:
 
 ```sh
 yarn tsc
-yarn build
+yarn build:backend
 yarn workspace example-backend build-image
 docker run -p 7007:7007 example-backend
 ```
diff --git a/docs/deployment/docker.md b/docs/deployment/docker.md
index 0b28e4d506..30276a97ab 100644
--- a/docs/deployment/docker.md
+++ b/docs/deployment/docker.md
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ more efficient caching of dependencies on the host, where a single change won't
 bust the entire cache.
 
 The required steps in the host build are to install dependencies with
-`yarn install`, generate type definitions using `yarn tsc`, and build all
-packages with `yarn build`.
+`yarn install`, generate type definitions using `yarn tsc`, and build the backend
+package with `yarn build:backend`.
 
 > NOTE: If you created your app prior to 2021-02-18, follow the
 > [migration step](https://github.com/backstage/backstage/releases/tag/release-2021-02-18)
@@ -49,8 +49,8 @@ yarn install --frozen-lockfile
 # tsc outputs type definitions to dist-types/ in the repo root, which are then consumed by the build
 yarn tsc
 
-# Build all packages and in the end bundle them all up into the packages/backend/dist folder.
-yarn build
+# Build the backend, which bundles it all up into the packages/backend/dist folder.
+yarn build:backend
 ```
 
 Once the host build is complete, we are ready to build our image. The following
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/contributors.md b/docs/getting-started/contributors.md
index 9154eae4d1..1bf3d6bc7d 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/contributors.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/contributors.md
@@ -101,7 +101,8 @@ yarn workspace @backstage/plugin-api-docs start # Serve api-docs plugin only, al
 yarn tsc # Run typecheck, use --watch for watch mode
 yarn tsc:full # Run full type checking, for example without skipLibCheck, use in CI
 
-yarn build # Build published versions of packages, depends on tsc
+yarn build:backend # Build the backend package, depends on tsc
+yarn build:all # Build published versions of packages, depends on tsc
 
 yarn lint # lint packages that have changed since later commit on origin/master
 yarn lint:all # lint all packages
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md b/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md
index 3e3e8b0727..a22156a87d 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/running-backstage-locally.md
@@ -41,47 +41,38 @@ locally to use features like Software Templates and TechDocs. Please refer to
 the
 [installation instructions for Docker](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/).
 
-## Clone and Build
+## Clone and Install
 
 To get up and running with a local Backstage to evaluate it, let's clone it off
-of GitHub and run an initial build.
+of GitHub and run an initial install.
 
 ```bash
 # Start from your local development folder
 git clone --depth 1 git@github.com:backstage/backstage.git
 cd backstage
 
-# Fetch our dependencies and run an initial build
+# Install our dependencies
 yarn install
-yarn tsc
-yarn build
 ```
 
 Phew! Now you have a local repository that's ready to run and to add any open
 source contributions into.
 
 We are now going to launch two things: an example Backstage frontend app, and an
-example Backstage backend that the frontend talks to. You are going to need two
-terminal windows, both starting from the Backstage project root.
-
-In the first window, run
+example Backstage backend that the frontend talks to. These can both be launched
+through the following command:
 
 ```bash
-# From your Backstage root directory
-yarn --cwd packages/backend start
+# From your Backstage root directory, launches both the frontend and backend
+yarn dev
 ```
 
-That starts up a backend instance on port 7007.
+If you prefer to run the frontend and backend separately, you can instead use `yarn start`
+and `yarn start-backend` in two separate terminal windows.
 
-In the other window, we will then launch the frontend. This command is run from
-the project root, not inside the backend directory.
-
-```bash
-yarn start
-```
-
-That starts up the frontend on port 3000, and should automatically open a
-browser window showing it.
+Which ever way you choose, you will now have a backend instance running on port 7007,
+and the frontend running on port 3000. A browser window should also automatically open,
+showing the frontend.
 
 ## Authentication
 
diff --git a/docs/tutorials/package-role-migration.md b/docs/tutorials/package-role-migration.md
index 0af5fdb615..db84defd91 100644
--- a/docs/tutorials/package-role-migration.md
+++ b/docs/tutorials/package-role-migration.md
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ The way to execute this step of the migration is not as well defined as the prev
 - In places where the entire repo is being built, use `yarn backstage-cli repo build`, which also supports the `--since` flag. The migration here is a bit more nuanced as it depends on why you are building all packages.
   - If you are building all packages to **verify** that you are able to build them, you most likely want `backstage-cli repo build --all`. The `--all` flag signals that bundled packages like `packages/app` and `packages/backend` should be built as well. Pair this up with a `--since` flag in CI to avoid needing to build all packages.
   - If you are building all packages to **publish** them, then `backstage-cli repo build` is enough, as it builds all published packages.
-  - If you are building all packages to **deploy** them, you likely don't want to use the `repo` command at all, simply call `yarn build` in the packages you want to deploy instead. For example, if you are deploying the backend with a docker host build, it's enough to call `yarn build` inside `packages/backend`.
+  - If you are building all packages to **deploy** them, you likely don't want to use the `repo` command at all, simply call `yarn build` in the packages you want to deploy instead. For example, if you are deploying the backend with a docker host build, it's enough to call `yarn build` inside `packages/backend`. In a standard `@backstage/create-app` there is also a shorthand for building the backend from the root, `yarn build:backend`.
 
 ## FAQ
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 3977bcc18f..d969db202c 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
     "dev": "concurrently \"yarn start\" \"yarn start-backend\"",
     "start": "yarn workspace example-app start",
     "start-backend": "yarn workspace example-backend start",
-    "build": "backstage-cli repo build --all",
+    "build:backend": "yarn workspace backend build",
+    "build:all": "backstage-cli repo build --all",
     "build:api-reports": "yarn build:api-reports:only --tsc",
     "build:api-reports:only": "ts-node -T -P scripts/tsconfig.json scripts/api-extractor.ts",
     "build:api-docs": "LANG=en_EN yarn build:api-reports --docs",
diff --git a/packages/app/public/index.html b/packages/app/public/index.html
index 863566e776..0710a0d69d 100644
--- a/packages/app/public/index.html
+++ b/packages/app/public/index.html
@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@
       You can add webfonts, meta tags, or analytics to this file.
       The build step will place the bundled scripts into the <body> tag.
 
-      To begin the development, run `npm start` or `yarn start`.
-      To create a production bundle, use `npm run build` or `yarn build`.
+      To begin the development, run `yarn start`.
+      To create a production bundle, use `yarn build`.
     -->
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/packages/backend/Dockerfile b/packages/backend/Dockerfile
index 60c6ffd27f..eca6ce82c2 100644
--- a/packages/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/packages/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 #
 # yarn install
 # yarn tsc
-# yarn build
+# yarn build:backend
 #
 # Once the commands have been run, you can build the image using `yarn build-image`
 
diff --git a/packages/backend/README.md b/packages/backend/README.md
index c2145705e0..f4c115db65 100644
--- a/packages/backend/README.md
+++ b/packages/backend/README.md
@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@ To run the example backend, first go to the project root and run
 
 ```bash
 yarn install
-yarn tsc
-yarn build
 ```
 
 You should only need to do this once.
@@ -23,19 +21,11 @@ You should only need to do this once.
 After that, go to the `packages/backend` directory and run
 
 ```bash
-AUTH_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=x AUTH_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=x \
-AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=x AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=x \
-AUTH_OAUTH2_CLIENT_ID=x AUTH_OAUTH2_CLIENT_SECRET=x \
-AUTH_OAUTH2_AUTH_URL=x AUTH_OAUTH2_TOKEN_URL=x \
-ROLLBAR_ACCOUNT_TOKEN=x \
-SENTRY_TOKEN=x \
-LOG_LEVEL=debug \
 yarn start
 ```
 
-Substitute `x` for actual values, or leave them as
-dummy values just to try out the backend without using the auth or sentry features.
-You can also, instead of using dummy values for a huge number of environment variables, remove those config directly from app-config.yaml file located in the root folder.
+If you want to override any configuration locally, for example adding any secrets,
+you can do so in `app-config.local.yaml`.
 
 The backend starts up on port 7007 per default.
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/templates/serve_index.html b/packages/cli/templates/serve_index.html
index ff2426d3f3..08e48cb678 100644
--- a/packages/cli/templates/serve_index.html
+++ b/packages/cli/templates/serve_index.html
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
       You can add webfonts, meta tags, or analytics to this file.
       The build step will place the bundled scripts into the <body> tag.
 
-      To begin the development, run `npm start` or `yarn start`.
-      To create a production bundle, use `npm run build` or `yarn build`.
+      To begin the development, run `yarn start`.
+      To create a production bundle, use `yarn build`.
     -->
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs
index adcd3a5774..070cb871bc 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/package.json.hbs
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@
     "dev": "concurrently \"yarn start\" \"yarn start-backend\"",
     "start": "yarn workspace app start",
     "start-backend": "yarn workspace backend start",
-    "build": "backstage-cli repo build --all",
+    "build:backend": "yarn workspace backend build",
+    "build:all": "backstage-cli repo build --all",
     "build-image": "yarn workspace backend build-image",
     "tsc": "tsc",
     "tsc:full": "tsc --skipLibCheck false --incremental false",
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/public/index.html b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/public/index.html
index b548d8fb70..c6083b3dd2 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/public/index.html
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/app/public/index.html
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@
       You can add webfonts, meta tags, or analytics to this file.
       The build step will place the bundled scripts into the <body> tag.
 
-      To begin the development, run `npm start` or `yarn start`.
-      To create a production bundle, use `npm run build` or `yarn build`.
+      To begin the development, run `yarn start`.
+      To create a production bundle, use `yarn build`.
     -->
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/Dockerfile b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/Dockerfile
index f0be3ac1d3..51f7124db4 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 #
 # yarn install
 # yarn tsc
-# yarn build
+# yarn build:backend
 #
 # Once the commands have been run, you can build the image using `yarn build-image`
 
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md
index 02426ef9b3..aa042db030 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/README.md
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ To run the example backend, first go to the project root and run
 
 ```bash
 yarn install
-yarn tsc
-yarn build
 ```
 
 You should only need to do this once.
@@ -25,16 +23,11 @@ You should only need to do this once.
 After that, go to the `packages/backend` directory and run
 
 ```bash
-AUTH_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=x AUTH_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=x \
-AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=x AUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=x \
-AUTH_OAUTH2_CLIENT_ID=x AUTH_OAUTH2_CLIENT_SECRET=x \
-AUTH_OAUTH2_AUTH_URL=x AUTH_OAUTH2_TOKEN_URL=x \
-LOG_LEVEL=debug \
 yarn start
 ```
 
-Substitute `x` for actual values, or leave them as dummy values just to try out
-the backend without using the auth or sentry features.
+If you want to override any configuration locally, for example adding any secrets,
+you can do so in `app-config.local.yaml`.
 
 The backend starts up on port 7007 per default.
 
diff --git a/packages/e2e-test/README.md b/packages/e2e-test/README.md
index 139213c0c1..f3692de2a7 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-test/README.md
+++ b/packages/e2e-test/README.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ All packages need to be installed and built before running the test. In a fresh
 ```sh
 yarn install
 yarn tsc
-yarn build
+yarn build:all
 ```
 
 Once those tasks have completed, you can now run the test using `yarn e2e-test run`.
diff --git a/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts b/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts
index f32d577cd4..fe4d87bea4 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e-test/src/commands/run.ts
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ async function createApp(
     for (const cmd of [
       'install',
       'tsc:full',
-      'build',
+      'build:all',
       'lint:all',
       'prettier:check',
       'test:all',
diff --git a/packages/techdocs-cli-embedded-app/public/index.html b/packages/techdocs-cli-embedded-app/public/index.html
index b548d8fb70..c6083b3dd2 100644
--- a/packages/techdocs-cli-embedded-app/public/index.html
+++ b/packages/techdocs-cli-embedded-app/public/index.html
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@
       You can add webfonts, meta tags, or analytics to this file.
       The build step will place the bundled scripts into the <body> tag.
 
-      To begin the development, run `npm start` or `yarn start`.
-      To create a production bundle, use `npm run build` or `yarn build`.
+      To begin the development, run `yarn start`.
+      To create a production bundle, use `yarn build`.
     -->
   </body>
 </html>