diff --git a/backend/Makefile b/backend/Makefile
index 51934ea30..b1de4d8b8 100644
--- a/backend/Makefile
+++ b/backend/Makefile
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ COMMIT ?= $(shell git rev-parse --short=7 HEAD)
 ARO_HCP_BASE_IMAGE ?= ${ARO_HCP_IMAGE_ACR}.azurecr.io
 ARO_HCP_BACKEND_IMAGE ?= $(ARO_HCP_BASE_IMAGE)/arohcpbackend:$(COMMIT)
 
+.DEFAULT_GOAL := backend
+
 backend:
 	go build -o aro-hcp-backend .
 .PHONY: backend
diff --git a/frontend/Makefile b/frontend/Makefile
index 6046c69bd..99b2fa958 100644
--- a/frontend/Makefile
+++ b/frontend/Makefile
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ COMMIT ?= $(shell git rev-parse --short=7 HEAD)
 ARO_HCP_BASE_IMAGE ?= ${ARO_HCP_IMAGE_ACR}.azurecr.io
 ARO_HCP_FRONTEND_IMAGE ?= $(ARO_HCP_BASE_IMAGE)/arohcpfrontend:$(COMMIT)
 
+.DEFAULT_GOAL := frontend
+
 frontend:
 	go build -o aro-hcp-frontend .