diff --git a/annif/backend/backend.py b/annif/backend/backend.py
index 817b6b23f..93dbc0ead 100644
--- a/annif/backend/backend.py
+++ b/annif/backend/backend.py
@@ -12,13 +12,25 @@ class AnnifBackend(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
     needs_subject_index = False
     needs_subject_vectorizer = False
 
-    def __init__(self, backend_id, params, datadir):
+    DEFAULT_PARAMS = {'limit': 100}
+
+    def __init__(self, backend_id, config_params, datadir):
         """Initialize backend with specific parameters. The
         parameters are a dict. Keys and values depend on the specific
         backend type."""
         self.backend_id = backend_id
-        self.params = params
         self.datadir = datadir
+        self.config_params = config_params
+
+    def default_params(self):
+        return self.DEFAULT_PARAMS
+
+    @property
+    def params(self):
+        params = {}
+        params.update(self.default_params())
+        params.update(self.config_params)
+        return params
 
     def train(self, corpus, project):
         """train the model on the given document or subject corpus"""
diff --git a/annif/backend/dummy.py b/annif/backend/dummy.py
index 1282eca33..2dcb99f35 100644
--- a/annif/backend/dummy.py
+++ b/annif/backend/dummy.py
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ class DummyBackend(backend.AnnifLearningBackend):
     uri = 'http://example.org/dummy'
     label = 'dummy'
 
+    def default_params(self):
+        return backend.AnnifBackend.DEFAULT_PARAMS
+
     def initialize(self):
         self.initialized = True
 
diff --git a/annif/backend/fasttext.py b/annif/backend/fasttext.py
index 9cd52d544..a9561361d 100644
--- a/annif/backend/fasttext.py
+++ b/annif/backend/fasttext.py
@@ -33,12 +33,25 @@ class FastTextBackend(mixins.ChunkingBackend, backend.AnnifBackend):
         't': float
     }
 
+    DEFAULT_PARAMS = {
+        'dim': 100,
+        'lr': 0.25,
+        'epoch': 5,
+        'loss': 'hs',
+    }
+
     MODEL_FILE = 'fasttext-model'
     TRAIN_FILE = 'fasttext-train.txt'
 
     # defaults for uninitialized instances
     _model = None
 
+    def default_params(self):
+        params = backend.AnnifBackend.DEFAULT_PARAMS.copy()
+        params.update(mixins.ChunkingBackend.DEFAULT_PARAMS)
+        params.update(self.DEFAULT_PARAMS)
+        return params
+
     def initialize(self):
         if self._model is None:
             path = os.path.join(self.datadir, self.MODEL_FILE)
diff --git a/annif/backend/mixins.py b/annif/backend/mixins.py
index 04774a58c..5cdc1dc06 100644
--- a/annif/backend/mixins.py
+++ b/annif/backend/mixins.py
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@
 class ChunkingBackend(metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
     """Annif backend mixin that implements chunking of input"""
 
+    DEFAULT_PARAMS = {'chunksize': 1}
+
+    def default_params(self):
+        return self.DEFAULT_PARAMS
+
     @abc.abstractmethod
     def _suggest_chunks(self, chunktexts, project):
         """Suggest subjects for the chunked text; should be implemented by
diff --git a/annif/backend/pav.py b/annif/backend/pav.py
index 407f430a3..0232a2876 100644
--- a/annif/backend/pav.py
+++ b/annif/backend/pav.py
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ class PAVBackend(ensemble.EnsembleBackend):
     # defaults for uninitialized instances
     _models = None
 
+    DEFAULT_PARAMS = {'min-docs': 10}
+
     def initialize(self):
         if self._models is not None:
             return  # already initialized
diff --git a/annif/backend/vw_ensemble.py b/annif/backend/vw_ensemble.py
index 94cf28fa7..1d731f937 100644
--- a/annif/backend/vw_ensemble.py
+++ b/annif/backend/vw_ensemble.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 import numpy as np
 from annif.exception import NotInitializedException
 from annif.suggestion import VectorSuggestionResult
+from . import backend
 from . import vw_base
 from . import ensemble
 
@@ -42,7 +43,16 @@ class VWEnsembleBackend(
     # a simple mean of scores. A higher value will mean that the model
     # adapts quicker (and possibly makes more errors) while a lower value
     # will make it more careful so that it will require more training data.
-    DEFAULT_DISCOUNT_RATE = 0.01
+
+    DEFAULT_PARAMS = {'discount_rate': 0.01}
+
+    def default_params(self):
+        params = backend.AnnifBackend.DEFAULT_PARAMS.copy()
+        params.update(self.DEFAULT_PARAMS)
+        params.update({param: default_val
+                       for param, (_, default_val) in self.VW_PARAMS.items()
+                       if default_val is not None})
+        return params
 
     def _load_subject_freq(self):
         path = os.path.join(self.datadir, self.FREQ_FILE)
@@ -75,8 +85,7 @@ def _calculate_scores(self, subj_id, subj_score_vector):
     def _merge_hits_from_sources(self, hits_from_sources, project, params):
         score_vector = np.array([hits.vector
                                  for hits, _ in hits_from_sources])
-        discount_rate = float(self.params.get('discount_rate',
-                                              self.DEFAULT_DISCOUNT_RATE))
+        discount_rate = float(self.params['discount_rate'])
         result = np.zeros(score_vector.shape[1])
         for subj_id in range(score_vector.shape[1]):
             subj_score_vector = score_vector[:, subj_id]
diff --git a/annif/backend/vw_multi.py b/annif/backend/vw_multi.py
index 3c3aef9e7..63cef305d 100644
--- a/annif/backend/vw_multi.py
+++ b/annif/backend/vw_multi.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 from annif.suggestion import ListSuggestionResult, VectorSuggestionResult
 from annif.exception import ConfigurationException
 from . import vw_base
+from . import backend
 from . import mixins
 
 
@@ -27,14 +28,24 @@ class VWMultiBackend(mixins.ChunkingBackend, vw_base.VWBaseBackend):
         'probabilities': (bool, None)
     }
 
-    DEFAULT_ALGORITHM = 'oaa'
     SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS = ('oaa', 'ect', 'log_multi', 'multilabel_oaa')
 
     DEFAULT_INPUTS = '_text_'
 
+    DEFAULT_PARAMS = {'algorithm': 'oaa'}
+
+    def default_params(self):
+        params = backend.AnnifBackend.DEFAULT_PARAMS.copy()
+        params.update(mixins.ChunkingBackend.DEFAULT_PARAMS)
+        params.update(self.DEFAULT_PARAMS)
+        params.update({param: default_val
+                       for param, (_, default_val) in self.VW_PARAMS.items()
+                       if default_val is not None})
+        return params
+
     @property
     def algorithm(self):
-        algorithm = self.params.get('algorithm', self.DEFAULT_ALGORITHM)
+        algorithm = self.params['algorithm']
         if algorithm not in self.SUPPORTED_ALGORITHMS:
             raise ConfigurationException(
                 "{} is not a valid algorithm (allowed: {})".format(
diff --git a/annif/project.py b/annif/project.py
index 34af903dd..7b9b5a909 100644
--- a/annif/project.py
+++ b/annif/project.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ class AnnifProject(DatadirMixin):
     def __init__(self, project_id, config, datadir):
         DatadirMixin.__init__(self, datadir, 'projects', project_id)
         self.project_id = project_id
-        self.name = config['name']
+        self.name = config.get('name', project_id)
         self.language = config['language']
         self.analyzer_spec = config.get('analyzer', None)
         self.vocab_id = config.get('vocab', None)
@@ -144,7 +144,8 @@ def backend(self):
             try:
                 backend_class = annif.backend.get_backend(backend_id)
                 self._backend = backend_class(
-                    backend_id, params=self.config, datadir=self.datadir)
+                    backend_id, config_params=self.config,
+                    datadir=self.datadir)
             except ValueError:
                 logger.warning(
                     "Could not create backend %s, "
diff --git a/tests/projects.cfg b/tests/projects.cfg
index eaccea36f..5e7d16733 100644
--- a/tests/projects.cfg
+++ b/tests/projects.cfg
@@ -50,6 +50,26 @@ language=en
 vocab=dummy
 analyzer=snowball(english)
 
+[noname]
+language=en
+backend=tfidf
+vocab=dummy
+analyzer=snowball(english)
+
+[noparams-tfidf-fi]
+name=TF-IDF Finnish using default params
+language=fi
+backend=tfidf
+analyzer=snowball(finnish)
+vocab=yso-fi
+
+[noparams-fasttext-fi]
+name=fastText Finnish using default params
+language=fi
+backend=fasttext
+analyzer=snowball(finnish)
+vocab=yso-fi
+
 [pav]
 name=PAV Ensemble Finnish
 language=fi
diff --git a/tests/test_backend.py b/tests/test_backend.py
index 988cad111..104b0e7c6 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Unit tests for backends in Annif"""
 
 import pytest
+import logging
 import annif
 import annif.backend
 import annif.corpus
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ def test_get_backend_nonexistent():
 
 def test_get_backend_dummy(app, project):
     dummy_type = annif.backend.get_backend("dummy")
-    dummy = dummy_type(backend_id='dummy', params={},
+    dummy = dummy_type(backend_id='dummy', config_params={},
                        datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
     result = dummy.suggest(text='this is some text', project=project)
     assert len(result) == 1
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ def test_get_backend_dummy(app, project):
 
 def test_learn_dummy(app, project, tmpdir):
     dummy_type = annif.backend.get_backend("dummy")
-    dummy = dummy_type(backend_id='dummy', params={},
+    dummy = dummy_type(backend_id='dummy', config_params={},
                        datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
 
     tmpdir.join('doc1.txt').write('doc1')
@@ -40,3 +41,11 @@ def test_learn_dummy(app, project, tmpdir):
     assert result[0].uri == 'http://example.org/key1'
     assert result[0].label == 'key1'
     assert result[0].score == 1.0
+
+
+def test_fill_params_with_defaults(app):
+    dummy_type = annif.backend.get_backend('dummy')
+    dummy = dummy_type(backend_id='dummy', config_params={},
+                       datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
+    expected_default_params = {'limit': 100}  # From AnnifBackend class
+    assert expected_default_params == dummy.params
diff --git a/tests/test_backend_fasttext.py b/tests/test_backend_fasttext.py
index 8afe14b25..25d1ada8a 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend_fasttext.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend_fasttext.py
@@ -8,11 +8,31 @@
 fasttext = pytest.importorskip("annif.backend.fasttext")
 
 
+def test_fasttext_default_params(datadir, project):
+    fasttext_type = annif.backend.get_backend("fasttext")
+    fasttext = fasttext_type(
+        backend_id='fasttext',
+        config_params={},
+        datadir=str(datadir))
+
+    expected_default_params = {
+        'limit': 100,
+        'chunksize': 1,
+        'dim': 100,
+        'lr': 0.25,
+        'epoch': 5,
+        'loss': 'hs',
+    }
+    actual_params = fasttext.params
+    for param, val in expected_default_params.items():
+        assert param in actual_params and actual_params[param] == val
+
+
 def test_fasttext_train(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     fasttext_type = annif.backend.get_backend("fasttext")
     fasttext = fasttext_type(
         backend_id='fasttext',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'limit': 50,
             'dim': 100,
             'lr': 0.25,
@@ -30,7 +50,7 @@ def test_fasttext_train_unknown_subject(tmpdir, datadir, project):
     fasttext_type = annif.backend.get_backend("fasttext")
     fasttext = fasttext_type(
         backend_id='fasttext',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'limit': 50,
             'dim': 100,
             'lr': 0.25,
@@ -53,7 +73,7 @@ def test_fasttext_train_nodocuments(tmpdir, datadir, project):
     fasttext_type = annif.backend.get_backend("fasttext")
     fasttext = fasttext_type(
         backend_id='fasttext',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'limit': 50,
             'dim': 100,
             'lr': 0.25,
@@ -73,7 +93,7 @@ def test_fasttext_suggest(datadir, project):
     fasttext_type = annif.backend.get_backend("fasttext")
     fasttext = fasttext_type(
         backend_id='fasttext',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'limit': 50,
             'chunksize': 1,
             'dim': 100,
diff --git a/tests/test_backend_http.py b/tests/test_backend_http.py
index ff601a504..aa634b815 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend_http.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend_http.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ def test_http_suggest(app, project):
         http_type = annif.backend.get_backend("http")
         http = http_type(
             backend_id='http',
-            params={
+            config_params={
                 'endpoint': 'http://api.example.org/analyze',
                 'project': 'dummy'},
             datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def test_http_suggest_with_results(app, project):
         http_type = annif.backend.get_backend("http")
         http = http_type(
             backend_id='http',
-            params={
+            config_params={
                 'endpoint': 'http://api.example.org/dummy/analyze',
             },
             datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ def test_http_suggest_zero_score(app, project):
         http_type = annif.backend.get_backend("http")
         http = http_type(
             backend_id='http',
-            params={
+            config_params={
                 'endpoint': 'http://api.example.org/analyze',
                 'project': 'dummy'},
             datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ def test_http_suggest_error(app, project):
         http_type = annif.backend.get_backend("http")
         http = http_type(
             backend_id='http',
-            params={
+            config_params={
                 'endpoint': 'http://api.example.org/analyze',
                 'project': 'dummy'},
             datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ def test_http_suggest_json_fails(app, project):
         http_type = annif.backend.get_backend("http")
         http = http_type(
             backend_id='http',
-            params={
+            config_params={
                 'endpoint': 'http://api.example.org/analyze',
                 'project': 'dummy'},
             datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ def test_http_suggest_unexpected_json(app, project):
         http_type = annif.backend.get_backend("http")
         http = http_type(
             backend_id='http',
-            params={
+            config_params={
                 'endpoint': 'http://api.example.org/analyze',
                 'project': 'dummy'},
             datadir=app.config['DATADIR'])
diff --git a/tests/test_backend_pav.py b/tests/test_backend_pav.py
index 36aaed11b..d2810d4fe 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend_pav.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend_pav.py
@@ -6,11 +6,26 @@
 from annif.exception import NotSupportedException
 
 
+def test_pav_default_params(datadir, document_corpus, project):
+    pav_type = annif.backend.get_backend("pav")
+    pav = pav_type(
+        backend_id='pav',
+        config_params={},
+        datadir=str(datadir))
+
+    expected_default_params = {
+        'min-docs': 10,
+    }
+    actual_params = pav.params
+    for param, val in expected_default_params.items():
+        assert param in actual_params and actual_params[param] == val
+
+
 def test_pav_train(app, datadir, tmpdir, project):
     pav_type = annif.backend.get_backend("pav")
     pav = pav_type(
         backend_id='pav',
-        params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
+        config_params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     tmpfile = tmpdir.join('document.tsv')
@@ -29,7 +44,7 @@ def test_pav_train_nodocuments(tmpdir, datadir, project):
     pav_type = annif.backend.get_backend("pav")
     pav = pav_type(
         backend_id='pav',
-        params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
+        config_params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     empty_file = tmpdir.ensure('empty.tsv')
@@ -44,7 +59,7 @@ def test_pav_initialize(app, datadir):
     pav_type = annif.backend.get_backend("pav")
     pav = pav_type(
         backend_id='pav',
-        params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
+        config_params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     assert pav._models is None
@@ -60,7 +75,7 @@ def test_pav_suggest(app, datadir, project):
     pav_type = annif.backend.get_backend("pav")
     pav = pav_type(
         backend_id='pav',
-        params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
+        config_params={'limit': 50, 'min-docs': 2, 'sources': 'dummy-fi'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = pav.suggest("""Arkeologiaa sanotaan joskus myös
diff --git a/tests/test_backend_tfidf.py b/tests/test_backend_tfidf.py
index 4281e4892..238909c99 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend_tfidf.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend_tfidf.py
@@ -18,11 +18,26 @@ def project(document_corpus):
     return proj
 
 
+def test_tfidf_default_params(datadir, project):
+    tfidf_type = annif.backend.get_backend("tfidf")
+    tfidf = tfidf_type(
+        backend_id='tfidf',
+        config_params={},
+        datadir=str(datadir))
+
+    expected_default_params = {
+        'limit': 100  # From AnnifBackend class
+    }
+    actual_params = tfidf.params
+    for param, val in expected_default_params.items():
+        assert param in actual_params and actual_params[param] == val
+
+
 def test_tfidf_train(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     tfidf_type = annif.backend.get_backend("tfidf")
     tfidf = tfidf_type(
         backend_id='tfidf',
-        params={'limit': 10},
+        config_params={'limit': 10},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     tfidf.train(document_corpus, project)
@@ -35,7 +50,7 @@ def test_tfidf_suggest(datadir, project):
     tfidf_type = annif.backend.get_backend("tfidf")
     tfidf = tfidf_type(
         backend_id='tfidf',
-        params={'limit': 10},
+        config_params={'limit': 10},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = tfidf.suggest("""Arkeologiaa sanotaan joskus myös
@@ -55,7 +70,7 @@ def test_tfidf_suggest_unknown(datadir, project):
     tfidf_type = annif.backend.get_backend("tfidf")
     tfidf = tfidf_type(
         backend_id='tfidf',
-        params={'limit': 10},
+        config_params={'limit': 10},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = tfidf.suggest("abcdefghijk", project)  # unknown word
diff --git a/tests/test_backend_vw_ensemble.py b/tests/test_backend_vw_ensemble.py
index 23b48ff53..46386ffe8 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend_vw_ensemble.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend_vw_ensemble.py
@@ -11,11 +11,28 @@
 pytest.importorskip("annif.backend.vw_ensemble")
 
 
+def test_vw_ensemble_default_params(datadir, project):
+    vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_ensemble")
+    vw = vw_type(
+        backend_id='vw_ensemble',
+        config_params={},
+        datadir=str(datadir))
+
+    expected_default_params = {
+        'limit': 100,
+        'discount_rate': 0.01,
+        'loss_function': 'squared',
+    }
+    actual_params = vw.params
+    for param, val in expected_default_params.items():
+        assert param in actual_params and actual_params[param] == val
+
+
 def test_vw_ensemble_suggest_no_model(datadir, project):
     vw_ensemble_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_ensemble')
     vw_ensemble = vw_ensemble_type(
         backend_id='vw_ensemble',
-        params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
+        config_params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     with pytest.raises(NotInitializedException):
@@ -26,7 +43,7 @@ def test_vw_ensemble_train_and_learn(app, datadir, tmpdir):
     vw_ensemble_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_ensemble")
     vw_ensemble = vw_ensemble_type(
         backend_id='vw_ensemble',
-        params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
+        config_params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     tmpfile = tmpdir.join('document.tsv')
@@ -67,7 +84,7 @@ def test_vw_ensemble_initialize(app, datadir):
     vw_ensemble_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_ensemble")
     vw_ensemble = vw_ensemble_type(
         backend_id='vw_ensemble',
-        params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
+        config_params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     assert vw_ensemble._model is None
@@ -83,7 +100,7 @@ def test_vw_ensemble_suggest(app, datadir):
     vw_ensemble_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_ensemble")
     vw_ensemble = vw_ensemble_type(
         backend_id='vw_ensemble',
-        params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
+        config_params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     project = annif.project.get_project('dummy-en')
@@ -103,7 +120,7 @@ def test_vw_ensemble_suggest_set_discount_rate(app, datadir):
     vw_ensemble_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_ensemble")
     vw_ensemble = vw_ensemble_type(
         backend_id='vw_ensemble',
-        params={'sources': 'dummy-en', 'discount_rate': '0.02'},
+        config_params={'sources': 'dummy-en', 'discount_rate': '0.02'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     project = annif.project.get_project('dummy-en')
@@ -122,7 +139,7 @@ def test_vw_ensemble_format_example(datadir):
     vw_ensemble_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_ensemble")
     vw_ensemble = vw_ensemble_type(
         backend_id='vw_ensemble',
-        params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
+        config_params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     ex = vw_ensemble._format_example(0, [0.5])
@@ -133,7 +150,7 @@ def test_vw_ensemble_format_example_avoid_sci_notation(datadir):
     vw_ensemble_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_ensemble")
     vw_ensemble = vw_ensemble_type(
         backend_id='vw_ensemble',
-        params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
+        config_params={'sources': 'dummy-en'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     ex = vw_ensemble._format_example(0, [7.24e-05])
diff --git a/tests/test_backend_vw_multi.py b/tests/test_backend_vw_multi.py
index 88e6bbcf7..4d83268e3 100644
--- a/tests/test_backend_vw_multi.py
+++ b/tests/test_backend_vw_multi.py
@@ -18,11 +18,29 @@ def vw_corpus(tmpdir):
     return annif.corpus.DocumentFile(str(tmpfile))
 
 
+def test_vw_multi_default_params(datadir, project):
+    vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend("vw_multi")
+    vw = vw_type(
+        backend_id='vw_multi',
+        config_params={},
+        datadir=str(datadir))
+
+    expected_default_params = {
+        'limit': 100,
+        'chunksize': 1,
+        'algorithm': 'oaa',
+        'loss_function': 'logistic',
+    }
+    actual_params = vw.params
+    for param, val in expected_default_params.items():
+        assert param in actual_params and actual_params[param] == val
+
+
 def test_vw_multi_suggest_no_model(datadir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 4},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 4},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     with pytest.raises(NotInitializedException):
@@ -33,7 +51,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_and_learn(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'learning_rate': 0.5,
             'loss_function': 'hinge'},
@@ -59,7 +77,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_and_learn_nodocuments(datadir, tmpdir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'learning_rate': 0.5,
             'loss_function': 'hinge'},
@@ -87,7 +105,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_from_project(app, datadir, document_corpus, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'inputs': '_text_,dummy-en'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
@@ -103,7 +121,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_multiple_passes(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'learning_rate': 0.5,
             'passes': 2},
@@ -119,7 +137,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_invalid_algorithm(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'learning_rate': 0.5,
             'algorithm': 'invalid'},
@@ -133,7 +151,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_invalid_loss_function(datadir, project, vw_corpus):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 4, 'loss_function': 'invalid'},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 4, 'loss_function': 'invalid'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     with pytest.raises(ConfigurationException):
@@ -144,7 +162,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_invalid_learning_rate(datadir, project, vw_corpus):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 4, 'learning_rate': 'high'},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 4, 'learning_rate': 'high'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     with pytest.raises(ConfigurationException):
@@ -155,7 +173,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_suggest(datadir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 4, 'probabilities': 1},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 4, 'probabilities': 1},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = vw.suggest("""Arkeologiaa sanotaan joskus myös
@@ -175,7 +193,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_suggest_empty(datadir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 4},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 4},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = vw.suggest("...", project)
@@ -187,7 +205,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_suggest_multiple_passes(datadir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 4, 'passes': 2},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 4, 'passes': 2},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = vw.suggest("...", project)
@@ -199,7 +217,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_ect(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'learning_rate': 0.5,
             'algorithm': 'ect'},
@@ -215,8 +233,8 @@ def test_vw_multi_suggest_ect(datadir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 1,
-                'algorithm': 'ect'},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 1,
+                       'algorithm': 'ect'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = vw.suggest("""Arkeologiaa sanotaan joskus myös
@@ -233,7 +251,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_log_multi(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'learning_rate': 0.5,
             'algorithm': 'log_multi'},
@@ -249,8 +267,8 @@ def test_vw_multi_suggest_log_multi(datadir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 1,
-                'algorithm': 'log_multi'},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 1,
+                       'algorithm': 'log_multi'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = vw.suggest("""Arkeologiaa sanotaan joskus myös
@@ -267,7 +285,7 @@ def test_vw_multi_train_multilabel_oaa(datadir, document_corpus, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={
+        config_params={
             'chunksize': 4,
             'learning_rate': 0.5,
             'algorithm': 'multilabel_oaa'},
@@ -283,8 +301,8 @@ def test_vw_multi_suggest_multilabel_oaa(datadir, project):
     vw_type = annif.backend.get_backend('vw_multi')
     vw = vw_type(
         backend_id='vw_multi',
-        params={'chunksize': 1,
-                'algorithm': 'multilabel_oaa'},
+        config_params={'chunksize': 1,
+                       'algorithm': 'multilabel_oaa'},
         datadir=str(datadir))
 
     results = vw.suggest("""Arkeologiaa sanotaan joskus myös
diff --git a/tests/test_project.py b/tests/test_project.py
index 787aa940a..a6604c219 100644
--- a/tests/test_project.py
+++ b/tests/test_project.py
@@ -89,6 +89,38 @@ def test_get_project_nobackend(app):
             backend = project.backend
 
 
+def test_get_project_noname(app):
+    with app.app_context():
+        project = annif.project.get_project('noname')
+        assert project.name == project.project_id
+
+
+def test_get_project_default_params_tfidf(app):
+    with app.app_context():
+        project = annif.project.get_project('noparams-tfidf-fi')
+    expected_default_params = {
+        'limit': 100  # From AnnifBackend class
+    }
+    actual_params = project.backend.params
+    for param, val in expected_default_params.items():
+        assert param in actual_params and actual_params[param] == val
+
+
+def test_get_project_default_params_fasttext(app):
+    pytest.importorskip("annif.backend.fasttext")
+    with app.app_context():
+        project = annif.project.get_project('noparams-fasttext-fi')
+    expected_default_params = {
+        'limit': 100,  # From AnnifBackend class
+        'dim': 100,    # Rest from FastTextBackend class
+        'lr': 0.25,
+        'epoch': 5,
+        'loss': 'hs'}
+    actual_params = project.backend.params
+    for param, val in expected_default_params.items():
+        assert param in actual_params and actual_params[param] == val
+
+
 def test_get_project_invalid_config_file(app):
     app = annif.create_app(
         config_name='annif.default_config.TestingInvalidProjectsConfig')