diff --git a/src/main/asciidoc/jdbc.adoc b/src/main/asciidoc/jdbc.adoc
index e2af5223d..f40a6eb00 100644
--- a/src/main/asciidoc/jdbc.adoc
+++ b/src/main/asciidoc/jdbc.adoc
@@ -61,6 +61,58 @@ WARNING: In the current implementation, entities referenced from an aggregate ro
 
 You can overwrite the repository methods with implementations that match your style of working and designing your database.
 
+[[jdbc.getting-started]]
+== Getting Started
+
+An easy way to bootstrap setting up a working environment is to create a Spring-based project in https://spring.io/tools/sts[STS] or from https://start.spring.io[Spring Initializr].
+
+First, you need to set up a running database server. Refer to your vendor documentation on how to configure your database for JDBC access.
+
+To create a Spring project in STS:
+
+. Go to File -> New -> Spring Template Project -> Simple Spring Utility Project, and press Yes when prompted. Then enter a project and a package name, such as `org.spring.jdbc.example`.
+.Add the following to the pom.xml files `dependencies` element:
++
+[source,xml,subs="+attributes"]
+----
+<dependencies>
+
+  <!-- other dependency elements omitted -->
+
+  <dependency>
+    <groupId>org.springframework.data</groupId>
+    <artifactId>spring-data-jdbc</artifactId>
+    <version>{version}</version>
+  </dependency>
+
+</dependencies>
+----
+. Change the version of Spring in the pom.xml to be
++
+[source,xml,subs="+attributes"]
+----
+<spring.framework.version>{springVersion}</spring.framework.version>
+----
+. Add the following location of the Spring Milestone repository for Maven to your `pom.xml` such that it is at the same level of your `<dependencies/>` element:
++
+[source,xml]
+----
+<repositories>
+  <repository>
+    <id>spring-milestone</id>
+    <name>Spring Maven MILESTONE Repository</name>
+    <url>https://repo.spring.io/libs-milestone</url>
+  </repository>
+</repositories>
+----
+
+The repository is also https://repo.spring.io/milestone/org/springframework/data/[browseable here].
+
+[[jdbc.examples-repo]]
+== Examples Repository
+
+There is a https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-data-examples[GitHub repository with several examples] that you can download and play around with to get a feel for how the library works.
+
 [[jdbc.java-config]]
 == Annotation-based Configuration
 
@@ -113,6 +165,9 @@ Everything else is done by Spring Boot.
 
 There are a couple of things one might want to customize in this setup.
 
+[[jdbc.dialects]]
+=== Dialects
+
 Spring Data JDBC uses implementations of the interface `Dialect` to encapsulate behavior that is specific to a database or its JDBC driver.
 By default the `AbstractJdbcConfiguration` tries to determine the database in use an register the correct `Dialect`.
 This behavior can be changed by overwriting `jdbcDialect(NamedParameterJdbcOperations)`.
diff --git a/src/main/asciidoc/preface.adoc b/src/main/asciidoc/preface.adoc
index 738f16d68..c40c20aca 100644
--- a/src/main/asciidoc/preface.adoc
+++ b/src/main/asciidoc/preface.adoc
@@ -1,14 +1,68 @@
 [[preface]]
 = Preface
 
-Spring Data JDBC offers a repository abstraction based on JDBC.
+The Spring Data JDBC project applies core Spring concepts to the development of solutions that use JDBC databases aligned with <<jdbc.domain-driven-design,Domain-driven design principles>>.
+We provide a "`template`" as a high-level abstraction for storing and querying aggregates.
+
+This document is the reference guide for Spring Data JDBC Support.
+It explains the concepts and semantics and syntax..
+
+This section provides some basic introduction.
+The rest of the document refers only to Spring Data JDBC features and assumes the user is familiar with SQL and Spring concepts.
+
+[[get-started:first-steps:spring]]
+== Learning Spring
+
+Spring Data uses Spring framework's https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/{springVersion}/spring-framework-reference/core.html[core] functionality, including:
+
+* https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/{springVersion}/spring-framework-reference/core.html#beans[IoC] container
+* https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/{springVersion}/spring-framework-reference/core.html#validation[type conversion system]
+* https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/{springVersion}/spring-framework-reference/core.html#expressions[expression language]
+* https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/{springVersion}/spring-framework-reference/integration.html#jmx[JMX integration]
+* https://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/{springVersion}/spring-framework-reference/data-access.html#dao-exceptions[DAO exception hierarchy].
+
+While you need not know the Spring APIs, understanding the concepts behind them is important.
+At a minimum, the idea behind Inversion of Control (IoC) should be familiar, and you should be familiar with whatever IoC container you choose to use.
+
+The core functionality of the JDBC Aggregate support can be used directly, with no need to invoke the IoC services of the Spring Container.
+This is much like `JdbcTemplate`, which can be used "'standalone'" without any other services of the Spring container.
+To leverage all the features of Spring Data JDBC, such as the repository support, you need to configure some parts of the library to use Spring.
+
+To learn more about Spring, you can refer to the comprehensive documentation that explains the Spring Framework in detail.
+There are a lot of articles, blog entries, and books on the subject.
+See the Spring framework https://spring.io/docs[home page] for more information.
+
+[[requirements]]
+== Requirements
+
+The Spring Data JDBC binaries require JDK level 8.0 and above and https://spring.io/docs[Spring Framework] {springVersion} and above.
+
+[[get-started:help]]
+== Additional Help Resources
+
+Learning a new framework is not always straightforward.
+In this section, we try to provide what we think is an easy-to-follow guide for starting with the Spring Data JDBC module.
+However, if you encounter issues or you need advice, feel free to use one of the following links:
+
+[[get-started:help:community]]
+Community Forum :: Spring Data on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/spring-data[Stack Overflow] is a tag for all Spring Data (not just Document) users to share information and help each other.
+Note that registration is needed only for posting.
+
+[[get-started:help:professional]]
+Professional Support :: Professional, from-the-source support, with guaranteed response time, is available from https://pivotal.io/[Pivotal Sofware, Inc.], the company behind Spring Data and Spring.
+
+[[get-started:up-to-date]]
+== Following Development
+
+For information on the Spring Data JDBC source code repository, nightly builds, and snapshot artifacts, see the Spring Data JDBC https://spring.io/projects/spring-data-jdbc/[homepage].
+You can help make Spring Data best serve the needs of the Spring community by interacting with developers through the Community on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/spring-data[Stack Overflow].
+If you encounter a bug or want to suggest an improvement, please create a ticket on the Spring Data issue https://jira.spring.io/browse/DATAJDBC[tracker].
+To stay up to date with the latest news and announcements in the Spring eco system, subscribe to the Spring Community https://spring.io[Portal].
+You can also follow the Spring https://spring.io/blog[blog] or the project team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SpringData[SpringData]).
 
 [[project]]
-[preface]
 == Project Metadata
 
-* Version control: https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-data-jdbc
-* Bugtracker: https://jira.spring.io/browse/DATAJDBC
 * Release repository: https://repo.spring.io/libs-release
 * Milestone repository: https://repo.spring.io/libs-milestone
 * Snapshot repository: https://repo.spring.io/libs-snapshot