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Six website checks before an indexing application

Start with what an evaluator can actually see. Open your journal website, work through these checks and keep a short list of the pages that need attention.

This is a practical starting point, not the complete eligibility criteria for DOAJ, Scopus or Web of Science. Each has its own selection process. Passing these checks does not guarantee acceptance.

1. Make the journal easy to identify

   Check that the journal title, ISSN, publisher and contact details agree across the homepage, article pages and public records. Keep a note of any discrepancy and the page that needs updating.

2. Open the articles, not just the links

   Test recent and older article pages and full-text files. Confirm that each file belongs to the article shown. For DOAJ, articles must be immediately open access; this is not a universal open-access requirement for every index.

3. Make policies clear and consistent

   Read the author instructions, peer-review, ethics, fees, copyright and licensing pages together. Remove contradictions. Describe your actual practice, not an aspirational policy copied from elsewhere.

4. Keep editorial information current

   Review editor and board names, affiliations and contact information. Ask your editorial office to confirm that the information is current. A polished list alone does not establish editorial quality.

5. Check the publication history

   Compare the stated publishing schedule with the public archive. Record gaps and explanations. A year absent from Crossref or OpenAlex needs investigation; it does not by itself prove that no articles were published.

6. Check article details against their source

   Compare titles, authors, dates and identifiers on article pages, files and metadata records. Test DOI links where used. Correct the underlying source before relying on a new export or spreadsheet.