What indexing is, when to apply, and how to prepare your website, your articles and your author base. A plain-English guide for editors and journal owners — no jargon, with a readiness checklist at the end.The basics
What indexing is & why it matters
An index (or database) evaluates academic journals against a set of quality criteria and lists those that qualify. Once a journal is indexed, its articles become far easier for researchers to discover, are more likely to be cited, and the journal earns greater trust within the scholarly community.
In short, being indexed grows three things: visibility (your articles surface in searches), credibility (an independent body has vetted your journal) and your readership and author pool (a journal in a respected index attracts stronger submissions).
A common confusion: not every index carries the same weight. Automatic discovery services like Google Scholar include almost everyone and are not a mark of quality. Editorially reviewed databases like DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE and EBSCO are the ones that signal real credibility.
Classification
Types of indexes
To plan a sensible strategy, it helps to think of indexes in four broad groups:
A Discovery crawlers
Automatic, no application needed. E.g. Google Scholar. Good for visibility, but not proof of quality.
B Open-access directories
Measure open access & transparency. E.g. DOAJ. For most journals this is the first serious target.
C Citation / quality databases
The most selective tier. E.g. Scopus, Web of Science (SCIE, SSCI, ESCI). Full editorial review.
D Subject databases
Focused on one field. E.g. PubMed/MEDLINE (health), EBSCO collections, ERIC (education), EconLit.
Mindset
Don’t wait for perfection to start
One of the most common questions we receive is some version of: “Do I need everything — the website, the policies, the indexing — ready before I launch the journal?” The answer is no, and waiting for that is the single biggest reason journals never get off the ground.
Indexing is not a prerequisite for publishing — it is a reward for publishing well, consistently, over time. No major index will even consider a journal that has not yet published. So the order is the opposite of what many people imagine:
1
First
Set up the website & the journal
Get a proper journal platform (e.g. OJS) running, with your core pages and policies in place. This is the foundation — it does not need to be flawless on day one.
2
Then
Publish your first issue (≈5+ articles)
Run real submissions through peer review and release your first issue with a meaningful number of articles. This proves the journal is alive and working.
3
Early on
Apply for and obtain your ISSN
Register with your national ISSN centre and get your number (preferably an e-ISSN). Almost every index requires it, so do this as soon as you are publishing.
4
From here on — in parallel
Keep publishing while preparing for indexes
This is the key idea: run two tracks at once. On one track you prepare and publish the next issue on schedule; on the other you steadily strengthen policies, metadata, DOIs and author diversity so you are ready to apply to DOAJ, then Scopus / Web of Science and beyond.
The takeaway: launch first, publish consistently, and build toward indexing as you go. A journal with two solid published issues and growing is far closer to indexing than a “perfect” journal that has never released a single article.
Timing
When to apply
Applying to a major index too early — before the journal has matured — usually ends in rejection. Worse, some indexes impose a waiting period (often 6–12 months) before you can reapply. So timing matters. You are generally in good shape to apply once most of the signals below are true:
✓You have a real publishing track record.
A common expectation: roughly a year of regular publishing, and at least 5 peer-reviewed research/review articles per year (DOAJ’s minimum volume).
✓Your publication schedule is consistent.
Issues appear on time, without long gaps. Irregularity is one of the most common rejection reasons.
✓Your policy & masthead pages are complete.
Peer review, ethics, copyright, open access and editorial board are all published on the site.
✓Your content isn’t single-author or single-institution.
Submissions from different institutions — and ideally different countries — have started to come in.
Practical advice: set your targets in stages. With a new journal, don’t go straight for Scopus — first build Google Scholar visibility and prepare for DOAJ. That groundwork is exactly what the top-tier indexes look for later.
Preparation · 1
Website & transparency
Almost every index shares one expectation: who the journal is, how it works and what it promises must be clearly stated on the site. Reviewers typically visit your website first. Make sure each of the following is present, clear and up to date:
✓Journal name & identity
A unique, non-misleading name shown consistently on the homepage and the “About the Journal” page.
✓Editorial board
Members listed with name, affiliation, country and ideally academic profile links (ORCID, institutional page).
✓Author guidelines & submission rules
The submission process, formatting requirements and ethical criteria spelled out in detail.
✓Peer review process
State clearly which type of review you use (e.g. double-blind). All content must be reviewed.
✓Publication ethics policy
How you handle plagiarism, conflicts of interest and misconduct — ideally referencing COPE guidelines.
✓Open access & copyright policy
Whether access is free, and who holds copyright (e.g. an appropriate Creative Commons licence).
✓Publication frequency
How often the journal is published (e.g. 2 or 4 issues per year) must be clearly stated.
✓Ownership & management
The owner/publisher and contact details should be visible.
✓A healthy website
No broken links, no inaccessible PDFs, no outdated information. This shows the journal is actively maintained.
Note: If you run OJS, most of these are configured under Settings → Journal / Website / Workflow. The structure already follows the standards — your job is simply to fill in every field completely and consistently.
Preparation · 2
Article quality & technical standards
Indexes judge a journal not only by its policies but by the content it actually publishes. There are two dimensions: the scholarly quality of the work, and its technical/metadata hygiene.
Scholarly quality
Original, peer-reviewed articles with clear methods and proper references. A balance weighted toward original research (rather than mostly reviews or translations) is preferred. Every published item must genuinely have passed peer review.
Technical & metadata standards
✓English metadata
Even for non-English articles, provide an English title, abstract and keywords — critical for international indexes.
✓DOI assignment
A persistent identifier (Crossref DOI) for every article is a strong plus.
✓Full-text access
Each article must be individually accessible, downloadable and directly linkable — a single bundled PDF is not enough.
✓Clean references
A consistent citation style and, where possible, DOI links in the reference list.
✓Machine-readable format
HTML and/or JATS XML full text makes it far easier for indexes to harvest your content.
Tip: Crossref membership and DOI assignment, metadata sharing via OAI-PMH, and HTML/JATS XML full text — these three put you ahead of competing journals when you move up to the top-tier indexes.
Preparation · 3
Author & country diversity
Something many journal owners overlook — but which the top-tier indexes (especially Scopus and Web of Science) take seriously: showing that your journal is an international scholarly platform, not a local bulletin. Diversity is how you prove it.
i Author diversity
Articles shouldn’t all come from one institution or the same small group of authors. Contributions from a range of universities break the “closed journal” perception.
ii Geographic spread
Authors from more than one country, where possible. International contribution is the clearest sign of genuine global interest.
iii Editorial board diversity
A board drawn from several institutions and countries, made up of recognised names in the field.
iv Reviewer pool
A broad, independent pool of reviewers demonstrates the impartiality of your review process.
Why it matters: indexes are wary of closed journals where a handful of people publish each other’s work. Diversity signals impartiality, reach and real academic impact. Build it authentically — by genuinely promoting your journal internationally — not through artificial shortcuts.
Strategy
Which index to start with
The healthiest path is to climb the indexes in order, as your journal matures. This staged route works for most journals:
1
Visibility · Immediately
Google Scholar & basic crawlers
No application needed; if your site is configured correctly it is crawled automatically. Gives early visibility and lets citations start to accumulate.
2
First serious target · After ~1 year
DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
Proves your open-access and transparency standards. Expects roughly a year of publishing or 5+ research articles per year, a clear licence and complete policy pages. A strong stepping stone toward higher indexes.
3
Databases & your field
EBSCO & subject databases
Aggregators like EBSCO and discipline-specific databases — e.g. PubMed/MEDLINE for health sciences, ERIC for education — are realistic mid-stage targets that widen your reach within your field.
4
Top tier · Mature journals
Scopus & Web of Science
The most selective targets. They require consistency, international author and board diversity, citation performance and complete metadata. Apply here only after you’ve solidly cleared the lower rungs.
Watch out
Common mistakes
×Waiting until everything is “perfect” before launching — instead of publishing and improving in parallel.
×Applying to major indexes too early, with thin or incomplete content.
×Policy pages (ethics, peer review, copyright) that are missing or contradict each other.
×Broken links, inaccessible PDFs and outdated information.
×Missing English abstracts and keywords.
×Content limited to a single institution or author group.
×An irregular publication schedule with delayed issues.
×Paying to be “listed” by predatory indexes and mistaking it for real indexing — it costs you credibility.
Golden rule: if an index asks for a fee but performs no genuine editorial review, stay away. Reputable databases evaluate your content — they don’t sell you a spot on a list.
Summary
Am I ready? Quick checklist
If you can answer “yes” to all of the following, you are most likely ready to apply:
✓You have a valid ISSN and an ISSN Portal listing.
✓You’ve published for ~1 year, or have 5+ peer-reviewed articles per year.
✓Ethics, peer-review, copyright and open-access policies are complete on the site.
✓The editorial board is listed with affiliation and country.
✓Articles carry English abstracts + keywords and, ideally, DOIs.
✓Every article has full-text access and there are no broken links.
✓Content comes from varied institutions/authors; international contribution has begun.
✓Your publication schedule runs on time, without gaps.
Let’s get your journal index-ready
From setting up a standards-compliant OJS journal to bringing an existing journal up to international standards — DOI, open access, metadata and indexing preparation — we’re here to help.
Get in Touch
This guide is for general information; always follow each index’s official, current criteria when you apply.
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