diff --git a/packages/cli/generators/app/templates/public/index.html.ejs b/packages/cli/generators/app/templates/public/index.html.ejs
index b06a53a1a299..ab001422efe2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/generators/app/templates/public/index.html.ejs
+++ b/packages/cli/generators/app/templates/public/index.html.ejs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
   <meta charset="utf-8">
   <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
-  <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://loopback.io/favicon.ico">
+  <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="//loopback.io/favicon.ico">
 
   <style>
     h3 {
@@ -57,15 +57,15 @@
 <body>
   <div class="info">
     <h1><%= project.name %></h1>
-    <p>Version <%= project.version || '1.0.0' %></p>
+    <p>Version <%= project.version || '0.0.1' %></p>
 
     <h3>OpenAPI spec: <a href="/openapi.json">/openapi.json</a></h3>
     <h3>API Explorer: <a href="/explorer">/explorer</a></h3>
   </div>
 
   <footer class="power">
-    <a href="https://loopback.io" target="_blank">
-      <img src="https://loopback.io/images/branding/powered-by-loopback/blue/powered-by-loopback-sm.png" />
+    <a href="//loopback.io" target="_blank">
+      <img src="//loopback.io/images/branding/powered-by-loopback/blue/powered-by-loopback-sm.png" />
     </a>
   </footer>
 </body>
diff --git a/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/README.md.ejs b/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/README.md.ejs
index 1cbae54fd242..477f77f90a58 100644
--- a/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/README.md.ejs
+++ b/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/README.md.ejs
@@ -1,3 +1,52 @@
 # <%= project.name %>
 
-[![LoopBack](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/raw/master/docs/site/imgs/branding/Powered-by-LoopBack-Badge-(blue)-@2x.png)](http://loopback.io/)
+<% if (project.description) { -%>
+> <%= project.description %>
+<% } -%>
+
+This project was generated with [Loopback CLI](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/tree/master/packages/cli) version <%= cliVersion %>.
+
+## First Steps
+
+### Starting the application
+
+Starting the application is as easy as:
+
+```sh
+npm start
+```
+
+### Using CLI Commands
+
+Refer to [Command-line interface](https://loopback.io/doc/en/lb4/Command-line-interface.html) for the full list of LoopBack 4 commands.
+
+### Adding Additional Dependencies
+
+Executing CLI commands will automatically update the dependencies in your package.json file and install them.
+
+If you need to install additional dependencies or dev dependencies, do so with
+
+```sh
+npm install --save
+```
+
+or
+
+```sh
+npm install --save-dev
+```
+
+The commands above will update the dependencies in your package.json file and install them.
+
+## Learn More
+
+To learn more about LoopBack 4, please refer to our [documentation](https://loopback.io/doc/en/lb4/). The developer guide can be found [here](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/blob/master/docs/site/DEVELOPING.md).
+
+> We also encourage the community helping each other out!<br />
+We encourage the community to help each other out!
+
+## Support
+
+For community support, open an issue on [LoopBack repository](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next). You can also join the [LoopBack Slack workspace](http://loopbackio.slack.com/) via [this invitation link](https://join.slack.com/t/loopbackio/shared_invite/zt-8lbow73r-SKAKz61Vdao~_rGf91pcsw). We also encourage the community helping each other out!
+
+[![LoopBack](https://github.com/strongloop/loopback-next/raw/master/docs/site/imgs/branding/Powered-by-LoopBack-Badge-\(blue\)-@2x.png)](http://loopback.io/)
diff --git a/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.json.ejs b/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.json.ejs
index 3c8da37fa25c..46fdc4a80ec4 100644
--- a/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.json.ejs
+++ b/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.json.ejs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "<%= project.name -%>",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "version": "0.0.1",
   "description": "<%= project.description -%>",
   "keywords": [
     "loopback-<%= project.projectType -%>",
diff --git a/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.plain.json.ejs b/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.plain.json.ejs
index 3e057ef092c0..fcc8eb1336cc 100644
--- a/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.plain.json.ejs
+++ b/packages/cli/generators/project/templates/package.plain.json.ejs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "<%= project.name -%>",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "version": "0.0.1",
   "description": "<%= project.description -%>",
   "keywords": [
     "loopback-<%= project.projectType -%>",
diff --git a/packages/cli/lib/project-generator.js b/packages/cli/lib/project-generator.js
index 7ceae692c660..4d0b1994bf4d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/lib/project-generator.js
+++ b/packages/cli/lib/project-generator.js
@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@ module.exports = class ProjectGenerator extends BaseGenerator {
       this.destinationPath(''),
       {
         project: this.projectInfo,
+        cliVersion,
       },
     );
 
