diff --git a/website/src/components/SearchPage/SearchFullUI.tsx b/website/src/components/SearchPage/SearchFullUI.tsx
index 07996ed8db..f76e6f9d37 100644
--- a/website/src/components/SearchPage/SearchFullUI.tsx
+++ b/website/src/components/SearchPage/SearchFullUI.tsx
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ export const InnerSearchFullUI = ({
     const [state, setState] = useQueryAsState({});
     const [page, setPage] = useState(1);
 
-    const orderByField = state.orderBy ?? schema.primaryKey;
-    const orderDirection = state.order ?? 'ascending';
+    const orderByField = state.orderBy ?? schema.defaultOrderBy ?? schema.primaryKey;
+    const orderDirection = state.order ?? schema.defaultOrder ?? 'ascending';
 
     const setOrderByField = (field: string) => {
         setState((prev: QueryState) => ({
diff --git a/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.spec.ts b/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.spec.ts
index 41103bc693..13c6315847 100644
--- a/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.spec.ts
+++ b/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.spec.ts
@@ -76,35 +76,8 @@ describe('getTableData', () => {
     test('should return default values when there is no data', async () => {
         const result = await getTableData(accessionVersion, schema, lapisClient);
 
-        const defaultList: TableDataEntry[] = [
-            {
-                label: 'Metadata field1',
-                name: 'metadataField1',
-                value: 'N/A',
-                customDisplay: undefined,
-                header: 'testHeader1',
-                type: { kind: 'metadata', metadataType: 'string' },
-            },
-            {
-                label: 'Metadata field2',
-                name: 'metadataField2',
-                value: 'N/A',
-                customDisplay: undefined,
-                header: '',
-                type: { kind: 'metadata', metadataType: 'string' },
-            },
-            {
-                label: 'Timestamp field',
-                name: 'timestampField',
-                value: 'N/A',
-                customDisplay: undefined,
-                header: '',
-                type: { kind: 'metadata', metadataType: 'timestamp' },
-            },
-        ];
-
         const data = result._unsafeUnwrap().data;
-        expect(data).toStrictEqual(defaultList.concat(defaultMutationsInsertionsDeletionsList));
+        expect(data).toStrictEqual(defaultMutationsInsertionsDeletionsList);
     });
 
     test('should return details field values', async () => {
diff --git a/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.ts b/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.ts
index f0ea5c6626..a93c43f41c 100644
--- a/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.ts
+++ b/website/src/components/SequenceDetailsPage/getTableData.ts
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ function toTableData(config: Schema) {
     }): TableDataEntry[] => {
         const data: TableDataEntry[] = config.metadata
             .filter((metadata) => metadata.hideOnSequenceDetailsPage !== true)
+            .filter((metadata) => details[metadata.name] !== null && metadata.name in details)
             .map((metadata) => ({
                 label: metadata.displayName ?? sentenceCase(metadata.name),
                 name: metadata.name,