Site Administrator
The Site Administrator has the highest level of access in an OJS installation. This role is responsible for the technical infrastructure that supports all journals hosted on the platform.
Role scope
The Site Administrator manages the entire OJS installation — not individual journals. Each journal within the installation has its own Journal Manager.
Responsibilities
| Task | Description |
|---|---|
| Installation & Upgrade | Install OJS on a server and keep it updated |
| Server Configuration | PHP, database, file storage, caching, email |
| Multi-journal Management | Create, enable, or archive journals on the site |
| Plugin Administration | Install and enable site-level plugins |
| User Management | Merge accounts, reset passwords, assign roles across journals |
| Security | Apply patches, configure HTTPS, manage API keys |
| Backup & Recovery | Database and file system backups |
Sections in This Guide
Getting Started
- Installation & Requirements — server prerequisites and OJS setup
- Upgrading OJS — safe upgrade procedure and version notes
Deployment & Configuration
- Server Configuration —
config.inc.php, caching, email, storage - Email Configuration — SMTP, SPF/DMARC, and email troubleshooting
- Scheduled Tasks — cron jobs and the built-in task runner
- Job Runner — workers, cron, and job queue monitoring
- User Accounts — spam protection, reCAPTCHA, SSO, and user management
- Multi-journal Setup — hosting more than one journal on a single install
- Sandbox an Instance — safely test or debug a production copy
Data Management
- Import & Export — Native XML, OAI, Users XML, CLI tools
- Backup & Recovery — scheduled backups and restore procedures
Security & Monitoring
- Security Hardening — HTTPS, CSP headers, file permissions
- Statistics — usage reports, COUNTER, recovering lost data
Troubleshooting
- Troubleshooting — file permissions, character encoding, blank pages
Quick Start
- Check server requirements (PHP 8.1+, MySQL 8 / PostgreSQL 14+)
- Download the latest OJS 3.5.x release from pkp.sfu.ca
- Follow the installation guide
- Create your first journal via Administration → Hosted Journals → Create Journal
- Assign a Journal Manager to the new journal
Accessing the Admin Panel
Log in as a user with the Site Administrator role, then navigate to:
User Menu (top-right) → Administration
Or go directly to: https://yoursite.com/index.php/index/admin
Further Reading
- OJS Releases — Download the latest OJS release
- PKP Community Forum — Community support and Q&A
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions for Site Administrators:
- How do I create a backup of my OJS installation?
- How do I move OJS to a different server?
- How do I check which version of OJS I am running?
- How do I remove "index.php" from OJS URLs?
- I get a database error after installation — how do I fix it?
- How should file permissions be set on my installation?
- How can I prevent spam and fake registrations?
- How do I add another Site Administrator?