diff --git a/doab_check/check.py b/doab_check/check.py
index b9f17e7..5640eb6 100755
--- a/doab_check/check.py
+++ b/doab_check/check.py
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ class ContentTyper(object):
             if r.status_code == 405:
                 r =  requests.get(url, headers=HEADERS)
             return r
+        except requests.exceptions.SSLError:
+            r =  requests.get(url, verify=False)
+            r.status_code = 511
         except:
             # unexplained error
             return None
diff --git a/doab_check/migrations/0005_alter_item_publisher_name_alter_item_title.py b/doab_check/migrations/0005_alter_item_publisher_name_alter_item_title.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7db274
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doab_check/migrations/0005_alter_item_publisher_name_alter_item_title.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Generated by Django 4.1.7 on 2023-04-11 17:26
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ('doab_check', '0004_auto_20230330_1419'),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='item',
+            name='publisher_name',
+            field=models.CharField(default='', max_length=1000),
+        ),
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name='item',
+            name='title',
+            field=models.CharField(default='', max_length=1000),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/doab_check/models.py b/doab_check/models.py
index 5f481c4..3fde900 100644
--- a/doab_check/models.py
+++ b/doab_check/models.py
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ class Item(models.Model):
     resource_type = models.CharField(max_length=20, null=True)
     
     # titles, publisher name can change
-    title = models.CharField(max_length=1000)
-    publisher_name = models.CharField(max_length=1000)
+    title = models.CharField(max_length=1000, default='')
+    publisher_name = models.CharField(max_length=1000, default='')
     
     def __str__(self):
         return self.doab.split('/')[1] if '/' in self.doab else self.doab