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If you're running an academic journal on Open Journal Systems, there's a good chance you haven't thought about your OJS version in a while. The platform works, submissions come in, reviews get assigned, and articles get published. So why fix what isn't broken?
The reality is that an outdated OJS installation might be functioning today while quietly creating problems you'll face tomorrow. Security vulnerabilities, compatibility issues with modern browsers, and missing features that authors and reviewers now expect—these issues tend to surface at the worst possible times.
How to Check Your Current OJS Version #
Finding your OJS version takes less than a minute. Log into your journal's admin dashboard and look at the bottom of the page or navigate to the "About" section in your site settings. You'll see something like "OJS 3.3.0.13" or "OJS 2.4.8.5".
That version number tells you a lot about where your journal stands:
Version starts with "2" — You're on legacy OJS. This version reached end-of-life years ago and no longer receives security updates from PKP (Public Knowledge Project). This is the most urgent situation.
Version is "3.1" or "3.2" — You're behind on important updates. While these versions were stable in their time, they're now several generations old.
Version is "3.3" — You're in reasonable shape but should be planning your path to 3.4 or 3.5 within the next year.
Version is "3.4" or "3.5" — You're running a current, supported version with active security patches and feature updates.
Warning Signs Your OJS Needs Attention #
Sometimes the version number isn't the only indicator. Your journal might be showing symptoms of an aging installation that go beyond just the software version.
Email Deliverability Issues #
Authors complaining they never received confirmation emails. Reviewers missing deadline reminders. Editorial decisions sitting unacknowledged because the author never got the notification.
These aren't just minor annoyances—they can derail your entire editorial workflow. Older OJS versions often struggle with modern email authentication requirements. Email providers have tightened their standards significantly over the past few years, implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies that older systems weren't designed to handle.
What worked five years ago doesn't necessarily work the same way today. If your journal's emails are consistently landing in spam folders or not arriving at all, your OJS version and server configuration may be contributing factors.
Display Problems on Mobile Devices #
More than half of your readers might be accessing your journal from phones or tablets. The research community isn't sitting at desktop computers all day—they're reading papers during commutes, between meetings, and from various devices.
Legacy OJS themes weren't designed with mobile responsiveness as a priority. If your journal looks cramped, has tiny unreadable text, or requires constant pinching and zooming on mobile devices, readers will simply leave. Worse, search engines now factor mobile usability into their ranking algorithms.
Slow Page Loading #
Pages taking several seconds to load. The submission form timing out. Dashboard responding sluggishly even for simple tasks.
While hosting quality certainly plays a role, outdated OJS versions are often less optimized and can strain server resources more than necessary. OJS 3.x introduced significant performance improvements over version 2, and each subsequent release has brought further optimizations.
Plugin Compatibility Problems #
Tried to install that DOI plugin everyone recommends? Or the citation formatting tool your authors keep requesting? Older OJS versions can't run modern plugins—the architecture simply doesn't support them.
This locks you out of tools that could genuinely improve your journal's visibility and functionality. The plugin ecosystem has grown substantially, but most active development focuses on current OJS versions.
⚡ Experiencing any of these issues?
Altechmind Technologies specializes in OJS upgrades—from legacy 2.x migrations to keeping current versions updated. We handle the technical complexity while preserving your journal's data and customizations.
Why Running Outdated Software Creates Risk #
Let's be direct about what's at stake.
OJS holds sensitive data: author personal information, unpublished manuscripts under review, reviewer identities for double-blind reviews, editorial correspondence. Security vulnerabilities in older versions are publicly documented, which means anyone looking for vulnerable systems knows exactly what to target.
The Public Knowledge Project releases security patches regularly, but they only support recent versions. If you're running OJS 2.x or early 3.x releases, you're no longer receiving these critical updates. Your installation remains frozen at whatever security level existed when you last updated.
Beyond security, there's the indexing consideration. Services like DOAJ, Crossref, and various aggregators have technical requirements that evolve over time. Outdated OJS installations may not meet current metadata standards, potentially affecting your journal's discoverability and indexing status.
What Modern OJS Versions Offer #
Upgrading isn't just about fixing problems—current OJS versions (3.4 and 3.5) genuinely improve how your journal operates.
The editorial interface is cleaner and more intuitive. Editors spend less time figuring out where things are and more time on actual editorial work. The submission process guides authors through requirements more clearly, reducing incomplete submissions and the back-and-forth communication that wastes everyone's time.
Built-in ORCID integration helps establish author identity and connect researchers with their published work across platforms. Better DOI workflows streamline your Crossref submissions. Improved accessibility features ensure your journal meets modern web standards—increasingly important as institutions worldwide adopt accessibility policies.
The theming system in OJS 3.x provides far more control over your journal's appearance without needing to modify core code. This means your visual customizations can survive future updates more easily, reducing the maintenance burden over time.
Understanding the Upgrade Path #
Upgrading OJS isn't like updating an app on your phone. Your journal has accumulated data—years of submissions, peer reviews, user accounts, published issues with their citation history. All of this needs to migrate correctly.
The upgrade path depends heavily on your starting point:
Journals on OJS 2.x face a more involved process. The architecture changed significantly in version 3, requiring careful data transformation. User accounts, submission histories, and published content all need to be converted to the new data structure.
Journals already on OJS 3.x have a smoother path, typically moving through intermediate versions to reach the current release. However, even these upgrades require attention to database changes, plugin compatibility, and theme adjustments.
What's critical to understand is that upgrades should never be performed directly on a live production site without proper preparation. A staging environment for testing, thorough backups, and validation of your specific configuration and plugins are essential parts of any responsible upgrade process.
When Should Upgrading Become a Priority? #
Not every journal needs to upgrade immediately, but certain situations should move this higher on your priority list:
You're experiencing the warning signs mentioned above — email deliverability issues, security concerns, plugin incompatibility. Waiting only makes these problems worse and harder to resolve.
Your institution is undergoing audit or accreditation — Having current, supported software demonstrates good governance and responsible management of research infrastructure.
You're planning to apply for DOAJ or Scopus indexing — Evaluators look at technical infrastructure as part of their assessment. An outdated platform can raise questions about long-term sustainability.
You're launching a new volume year — This is a natural transition point. Better to address infrastructure updates between volumes than deal with disruptions mid-year.
Your current hosting arrangement is changing — If you're already planning a server migration, combining it with an OJS upgrade can be more efficient than handling them separately.
Moving Forward #
Checking your OJS version takes two minutes. Understanding what that version means for your journal's security, functionality, and future requires more thought—but it's thought worth having now rather than during a crisis.
The scholarly publishing landscape keeps evolving. Author expectations change, indexing requirements get updated, security standards tighten. Your journal's platform should evolve with these changes rather than becoming a limiting factor.
Whether you handle the technical work in-house or work with specialists who focus on OJS implementations, keeping your journal's infrastructure current is part of responsible academic publishing.
