diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index bcb4de2c8a..5996d6b6c3 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -8,21 +8,31 @@ The easiest way to get up and running is to [install](https://docs.docker.com/ge
 
 Make sure Docker, Elixir, Erlang and Node.js are all installed on your development machine. The [`.tool-versions`](https://github.com/plausible/analytics/blob/master/.tool-versions) file is available to use with [asdf](https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf) or similar tools.
 
-### Start the environment:
+### Start the environment
 
 1. Run both `make postgres` and `make clickhouse`.
 2. You can set up everything with `make install`, alternatively run each command separately:
     1. Run `mix deps.get`. This will download the required Elixir dependencies.
     2. Run `mix ecto.create`. This will create the required databases in both Postgres and Clickhouse.
     3. Run `mix ecto.migrate` to build the database schema.
-    4. Run `npm ci --prefix assets` to install the required client-side dependencies.
-    5. Run `npm ci --prefix tracker` to install the required tracker dependencies.
-    6. Run `npm run deploy --prefix tracker` to generate tracker files in `priv/tracker/js`
-    7. Run `mix download_country_database` to fetch geolocation database
+    4. Run `mix run priv/repo/seeds.exs` to seed the database. Check the [Seeds](#Seeds) section for more.
+    5. Run `npm ci --prefix assets` to install the required client-side dependencies.
+    6. Run `npm ci --prefix tracker` to install the required tracker dependencies.
+    7. Run `npm run deploy --prefix tracker` to generate tracker files in `priv/tracker/js`
+    8. Run `mix download_country_database` to fetch geolocation database
 3. Run `make server` or `mix phx.server` to start the Phoenix server.
 4. The system is now available on `localhost:8000`.
 
-### Creating an account
+### Seeds
+
+You can optionally seed your database to automatically create an account and a site with stats:
+
+1. Run `mix run priv/repo/seeds.exs` to seed the database.
+2. Start the server with `make server` and navigate to `http://localhost:8000/login`.
+3. Log in with the following e-mail and password combination: `user@plausible.test` and `plausible`.
+4. You should now have a `dummy.site` site with generated stats.
+
+Alternatively, you can manually create a new account:
 
 1. Navigate to `http://localhost:8000/register` and fill in the form.
 2. Fill in the rest of the forms and for the domain use `dummy.site`
diff --git a/mix.exs b/mix.exs
index a78b939875..ec13b6efd8 100644
--- a/mix.exs
+++ b/mix.exs
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ defmodule Plausible.MixProject do
   end
 
   # Specifies which paths to compile per environment.
-  defp elixirc_paths(:test), do: ["lib", "test/support"]
+  defp elixirc_paths(env) when env in [:test, :dev], do: ["lib", "test/support"]
   defp elixirc_paths(_), do: ["lib"]
 
   # Specifies your project dependencies.
@@ -71,9 +71,8 @@ defmodule Plausible.MixProject do
       {:dialyxir, "~> 1.0", only: [:dev, :test], runtime: false},
       {:double, "~> 0.8.0", only: :test},
       {:ecto_sql, "~> 3.0"},
-      {:elixir_uuid, "~> 1.2", only: :test},
       {:envy, "~> 1.1.1"},
-      {:ex_machina, "~> 2.3", only: :test},
+      {:ex_machina, "~> 2.3", only: [:dev, :test]},
       {:excoveralls, "~> 0.10", only: :test},
       {:exvcr, "~> 0.11", only: :test},
       {:finch, "~> 0.12.0", override: true},
diff --git a/priv/repo/seeds.exs b/priv/repo/seeds.exs
index b4931d33bb..612dde53fa 100644
--- a/priv/repo/seeds.exs
+++ b/priv/repo/seeds.exs
@@ -9,3 +9,31 @@
 #
 # We recommend using the bang functions (`insert!`, `update!`
 # and so on) as they will fail if something goes wrong.
+
+user = Plausible.Factory.insert(:user, email: "user@plausible.test", password: "plausible")
+
+site = Plausible.Factory.insert(:site, domain: "dummy.site")
+
+membership = Plausible.Factory.insert(:site_membership, user: user, site: site, role: :owner)
+
+put_random_time = fn date ->
+  random_time = Time.new!(:rand.uniform(23), :rand.uniform(59), 0)
+
+  date
+  |> NaiveDateTime.new!(random_time)
+  |> NaiveDateTime.truncate(:second)
+end
+
+Enum.flat_map(-720..0, fn day_index ->
+  number_of_events = :rand.uniform(500)
+  date = Date.add(Date.utc_today(), day_index)
+
+  attrs = [
+    domain: site.domain,
+    hostname: site.domain,
+    timestamp: fn -> put_random_time.(date) end
+  ]
+
+  Plausible.Factory.build_list(number_of_events, :pageview, attrs)
+end)
+|> Plausible.TestUtils.populate_stats()
diff --git a/test/support/factory.ex b/test/support/factory.ex
index 30ca268069..9797fb2fb3 100644
--- a/test/support/factory.ex
+++ b/test/support/factory.ex
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ defmodule Plausible.Factory do
 
     %Plausible.ClickhouseSession{
       sign: 1,
-      session_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), UUID.uuid4()),
-      user_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), UUID.uuid4()),
+      session_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), Ecto.UUID.generate()),
+      user_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), Ecto.UUID.generate()),
       hostname: hostname,
       domain: hostname,
       referrer: "",
@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ defmodule Plausible.Factory do
       domain: hostname,
       pathname: "/",
       timestamp: NaiveDateTime.utc_now() |> NaiveDateTime.truncate(:second),
-      user_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), UUID.uuid4()),
-      session_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), UUID.uuid4()),
+      user_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), Ecto.UUID.generate()),
+      session_id: SipHash.hash!(hash_key(), Ecto.UUID.generate()),
       referrer: "",
       referrer_source: "",
       utm_medium: "",