- Start with the editorial foundations (scope, board, peer review, policies). Software comes second.
- Set up OJS with complete publishing details: publisher, ISSN, contact, licence, ethics and peer review statements visible on the site.
- Indexing is earned over time: Google Scholar and DOIs first, then DOAJ, then Scopus or Web of Science once you have a track record.
Before you start an academic journal: timeline and team
Anyone can install software, but starting an academic journal that authors trust and indexers accept takes planning. This guide follows the order that works in practice: editorial foundations first, then the OJS journal setup, then publishing and indexing. Use the launch checklist at the end to track progress.
A realistic timeline for a new journal looks like this:
| Phase | Typical duration | Main outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | 1–3 months | Aims and scope, title, publisher details, editorial board, policies |
| Platform setup | 2–6 weeks | OJS installed and configured, theme, email, DOIs, author guidelines |
| Call for papers and review | 3–6 months | Submissions reviewed and revised, accepted papers copyedited |
| First issue | 2–4 weeks | Galleys, DOIs registered, issue published and announced |
At minimum you need an editor-in-chief who owns editorial decisions, a managing editor or journal manager who runs the day-to-day workflow, and someone responsible for the technical side (hosting, updates, backups).
Step 1: Define the aims, scope and a unique title
Your aims and scope statement tells authors what you publish and tells indexers whether the journal is focused. Write it in three to six sentences:
- Subject focus: one discipline or a clearly connected set of topics. "All areas of science, engineering and management" is a red flag for reviewers and indexers.
- Article types: original research, reviews, case studies, short communications.
- Audience: who reads the journal and why it fills a gap.
- Language and access: publication language(s) and whether the journal is open access.
Choose a title that matches the scope and is not confusingly similar to an existing journal. Search the ISSN Portal, DOAJ and Google Scholar for your proposed title before registering a domain. Copycat titles are a classic sign of a predatory journal.
Step 2: Decide ownership and publisher details
Indexers and authors want to know who stands behind the journal. Decide and publish:
- Publisher name: a university, department, society, institute or company.
- Full postal address and country. The country also decides which ISSN centre you apply to.
- Contact person and a dedicated journal email address on your own domain, for example
editor@yourjournal.org, not a free webmail address. - Ownership and management: who owns the title and who appoints the editors.
Pick a permanent domain or subdomain now (for example journal.youruniversity.edu). Changing it later breaks links in Google Scholar and DOI landing pages.
Step 3: Build a real, verifiable editorial board
The editorial board is one of the first things evaluators check. Build it carefully:
- Invite active researchers in your scope and get their written consent before listing them.
- List each member's full name, role, affiliation and country, ideally with an ORCID iD or institutional profile link.
- Aim for geographic diversity where possible. Scopus and Web of Science look for international editorial standing, and DOAJ recommends at least five editors with suitable expertise.
- Give board members real duties: handling submissions, reviewing, advising on policy.
- Review the board every year and remove inactive members.
Never list people without permission
Adding well-known names who have not agreed is a serious ethical breach. It is easily discovered and can permanently damage the journal's reputation.
Step 4: Choose your peer review model
State clearly how manuscripts are reviewed. The common models are:
| Model | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Double-anonymous | Authors and reviewers do not know each other's identity | Most journals, especially in smaller research communities |
| Single-anonymous | Reviewers know the authors; authors do not know the reviewers | Fields where anonymising papers is difficult |
| Open review | Identities are known, and reviews may be published | Journals committed to transparency |
Publish the number of reviewers per paper (usually at least two), the typical timeline, how editors decide, and how appeals are handled. OJS supports all three models through its review settings.
Step 5: Write your journal policies
Policies show that the journal follows recognised publishing ethics. At minimum, publish:
- Peer review policy
- Publication ethics and malpractice statement, aligned with the COPE Core Practices
- Plagiarism and similarity-check policy
- Open access statement and licence (for example a Creative Commons licence)
- Copyright policy (who holds copyright)
- Archiving and self-archiving policy
- Corrections, retractions and complaints / appeals
- Conflicts of interest, authorship, data availability and use of AI tools
Use our editable journal policy templates as a starting point, and adapt them to your field and processes. A policy you do not actually follow is worse than none.
Step 6: OJS journal setup with complete publishing details
With the editorial groundwork done, set up the platform. If you are installing OJS yourself, follow our step-by-step OJS installation guide, which covers SMTP email, cron jobs and HTTPS. If you would rather not touch the server, our OJS installation service delivers a configured, production-ready journal.
Once OJS is running, complete the publishing details that Scopus, DOAJ and other indexers look for. In OJS 3.3 and 3.4 the main places are (labels may differ slightly in 3.5):
| What to set | Where in OJS |
|---|---|
| Journal name, abbreviation, publisher, ISSN, summary, editorial team | Settings → Journal → Masthead |
| Principal contact and technical support contact | Settings → Journal → Contact |
| Sections (Articles, Reviews…) and their review settings | Settings → Journal → Sections |
| Author guidelines, submission checklist, review guidelines | Settings → Workflow |
| Licence, copyright holder, open access policy | Settings → Distribution → License / Access |
| Search engine description and keywords | Settings → Distribution → Search Indexing |
| Logo, theme, navigation menus, footer | Settings → Website |
Put each policy on its own page (the Static Pages plugin or sections of the About page work well) and link them from the main menu. Scopus, for example, requires a publicly available description of the peer review process and a publication ethics and malpractice statement.
Also enable reCAPTCHA or similar protection on registration, decide which roles users can self-register for, and test that registration and review emails reach Gmail and Outlook inboxes.
Step 7: Theme and design for an academic journal
People often ask which "theme and CMS" to use for an academic journal. OJS is the CMS; the theme controls how it looks. Authors judge a new journal in seconds, so the design should be clean, fast and credible:
- A clear header with the journal title, ISSN and publisher.
- A homepage that shows aims and scope, the current issue and the call for papers.
- Menus that reach every policy in one click.
- Readable article pages that work on phones.
- No flashing banners, fake badges or long lists of "indexing" logos.
Start with one of the free official themes (compared in our OJS themes guide) and customise colours and the header, or commission a custom design if you need a distinct identity.
Step 8: Get an ISSN
An ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) identifies your journal and is required by DOAJ, Scopus and Web of Science. Key points:
- ISSNs are assigned by the ISSN National Centre of the country where the publisher is located. Publishers in countries without a national centre apply to the ISSN International Centre. In India, for example, the ISSN National Centre is run by CSIR-NIScPR in New Delhi.
- An online journal gets an online ISSN (e-ISSN). A print edition needs its own, separate print ISSN.
- Many centres assign an online ISSN only after the journal has published content, and they check that the website shows the title, publisher and address. Check the current rules of your national centre before applying.
- The journal title on your website must match the ISSN record exactly. Changing the title later normally means a new ISSN.
Once assigned, add the ISSN to the OJS masthead so it appears on the site and in exported metadata, and verify the record on the ISSN Portal.
Step 9: Register DOIs with Crossref
A DOI gives every article a permanent link and makes citations trackable. Most journals register DOIs through Crossref:
- Join Crossref
Apply for membership directly or through a Crossref sponsoring organisation. You receive a DOI prefix such as
10.12345. - Configure DOIs in OJS
In OJS 3.4 and later, enable DOIs under Settings → Distribution → DOIs and set Crossref as the registration agency. In OJS 3.3, use the DOI plugin and the Crossref XML export plugin.
- Choose a stable suffix pattern
Decide once and never change a DOI after it is registered.
- Deposit and test
Deposit DOIs when you publish, then check that each DOI resolves to the correct article page.
Full instructions are in our OJS DOI and Crossref setup guide.
Step 10: Author guidelines and manuscript template
Clear guidelines save editors hours and make the journal look professional. Include:
- Article types, word limits and structure (abstract, keywords, sections).
- Reference style with examples (APA, Vancouver, IEEE or your own).
- A downloadable Word (and optionally LaTeX) template.
- Requirements for ORCID iDs, author contributions, funding, conflicts of interest and data availability.
- Your policy on preprints and on the use of AI tools.
- How submissions are anonymised for review, if you use anonymous review.
Add the guidelines in OJS under Settings → Workflow so they appear on the submission page, and keep the submission checklist short and specific.
Step 11: Build your first issue
The first issue sets the journal's reputation. Practical advice:
- Invite good papers ethically. Announce the call for papers through your board's networks, societies and conferences, not mass spam emails.
- Review everything properly, including invited papers. Keep the review records in OJS.
- Limit papers by editors and board members, and have them handled by an independent editor.
- Produce clean galleys: text-based (not scanned) PDFs with the journal name, volume, issue, DOI and licence on the first page.
- Publish on schedule and keep a regular rhythm afterwards. DOAJ expects active journals to publish at least five research articles a year, and missed issues hurt credibility.
In OJS, create the issue under Issues → Future Issues, schedule each accepted article into it from the article's Publication tab, then publish the issue.
Step 12: Archiving and long-term preservation
Indexers want to know that your articles will survive if the website goes offline. Options include:
- PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), built on LOCKSS. Journals running OJS 3.1.2 or newer, with an ISSN and at least one published article, can join by enabling the PKP PN plugin and accepting its terms.
- Other services such as CLOCKSS, Portico or a national library deposit scheme.
- Your own backups of the database, files directory and
public/folder. Backups protect you from accidents but are not a preservation arrangement.
Describe the arrangement in an archiving policy on the website.
A realistic indexing roadmap for a new journal
No one can guarantee indexing. What you can do is meet each database's criteria in a sensible order:
| When | Target | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| From the first issue | Google Scholar, Crossref, ORCID | Correct OJS metadata, text-based PDFs, DOIs registered. Google Scholar is technical, not an application. |
| After more than one year or 10+ research articles | DOAJ | ISSN confirmed at issn.org, full policies, licence, editorial board and contact details on the site |
| After a consistent publication history | Scopus, Web of Science (ESCI), PubMed Central for biomedical journals | Regular issues, international board and authors, citations, public ethics statement, English titles and abstracts |
Our journal indexing guide explains how DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed differ and how to verify a journal's indexing claims.
How to avoid looking like a predatory journal
Predatory journals exploit authors with fake peer review and false claims. Honest new journals sometimes look similar by accident. Avoid these signals:
| Signal | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| Claims of indexing or an "impact factor" the journal does not have | List only databases that actually index you, with links that can be verified. |
| Badges from unrecognised metrics services | Remove them. They damage credibility with evaluators. |
| Promises of acceptance or publication within days | Publish realistic review timelines and stick to them. |
| Very broad scope | Keep a focused, coherent subject area. |
| Board members who never agreed to serve | List only confirmed members with affiliations. |
| Mass unsolicited emails to authors | Promote through professional networks and societies. |
| No address, no named contact, free webmail | Show the publisher address, a contact person and a domain email. |
| Author terms revealed only after acceptance | Publish your open access model, licence, copyright terms and author obligations before submission. |
| Title that mimics a well-known journal | Use an original title checked against the ISSN Portal. |
Authors increasingly check journals with tools such as Think. Check. Submit. Make sure yours passes easily.
Printable journal launch checklist
Print this table (or save the page as PDF) and tick each item before announcing the journal.
| ✓ | Item | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Aims and scope | Focused statement published on the About page |
| ☐ | Unique title | Checked against the ISSN Portal, DOAJ and Google Scholar |
| ☐ | Publisher details | Name, postal address, contact person and domain email visible |
| ☐ | Editorial board | Consent received; names, roles, affiliations and countries listed |
| ☐ | Peer review policy | Model, number of reviewers, timeline and decision process published |
| ☐ | Ethics and other policies | Ethics, plagiarism, open access, licence, copyright, archiving, retractions |
| ☐ | OJS installed securely | HTTPS, files directory outside web root, SMTP email, cron, backups |
| ☐ | Masthead and settings | Publisher, contacts, sections, licence and search indexing completed |
| ☐ | Theme | Professional, mobile-friendly, every policy reachable from the menu |
| ☐ | Author guidelines | Guidelines, template and submission checklist online |
| ☐ | Registration protection | reCAPTCHA or equivalent enabled, self-registration roles reviewed |
| ☐ | DOIs | Crossref membership, prefix configured, test deposit successful |
| ☐ | First issue | Reviewed articles, clean text-based PDFs, published on schedule |
| ☐ | ISSN | Applied (or assigned) and shown on the site once received |
| ☐ | Preservation | PKP PN or another archiving arrangement in place and described |
| ☐ | Google Scholar readiness | Article meta tags and sitemap checked |
Want help with the parts that take the most time? OJS Academy has supported 80+ academic journals over 10+ years. Our OJS services cover installation, theme design, policies, DOI setup and honest indexing preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to start an academic journal?
Planning the scope, recruiting a board and writing policies usually takes one to three months. Setting up OJS, the theme and DOIs takes a few weeks. Collecting, reviewing and producing enough good articles for the first issue often takes another three to six months. Rushing the first issue is a common mistake.
Can I start a journal without a university or publisher?
Yes. Societies, research groups and independent publishers start journals too. What matters is that the publisher is clearly named, has a real address and contact details, and that the editorial board is genuine and verifiable.
Do I need an ISSN before publishing the first issue?
Not always. Many ISSN centres assign an online ISSN only once the journal has published content, so it is normal to launch, publish the first issue, then apply. Rules differ by country, so check with your national ISSN centre via issn.org.
When can a new journal apply to Scopus?
Scopus only reviews journals with a publication history, and it looks for consistent quality, an international editorial board, a public ethics statement and English titles and abstracts. Most journals should build a solid track record first. Our Scopus indexing guide explains the criteria.
What is the best CMS and theme for an academic journal?
For most scholarly journals the best CMS is Open Journal Systems, because it combines peer review, publishing and indexing metadata. Start with a clean, responsive theme and customise the header, colours and homepage. See our OJS themes comparison.
How many articles should the first issue have?
Quality matters more than quantity, but plan for a steady flow. DOAJ, for example, expects active journals to publish at least five research articles a year. Aim for a first issue of several strong, properly reviewed papers rather than filling it with weak or in-house submissions.
Can OJS Academy set up a new journal for us?
Yes. We install and configure OJS, design the theme, help with policies and DOI setup, and prepare the journal for indexing, without promising outcomes we cannot control. See our OJS services or contact us for a free consultation.
