WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub)
by joshfraz · Content & Feeds
A WebSub plugin for WordPress that enables real-time publishing and subscription capabilities.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 88/100
Few reviews
Active installs
100K+
≈150K estimated
Momentum
-19%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “feed” for “atom”. “feed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “atom” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
88 health vs 64 average across 1,193 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.6%
of downloads still active
At least 100K of 2.2M lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 864 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Content & Feeds plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 3 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 72 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
41
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
+0.2
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| websub your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| pubsubhubbub your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| pubsub your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| rdf | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| rss2 | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| indieweb your tag | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| atom | #4 | #9 | 0 |
| publishing | #11 | #19 | down 2 |
| capabilities | #15 | #24 | down 1 |
| feed reader | #12 | #19 | 0 |
| subscribers | #20 | #24 | down 1 |
| reader | #23 | #23 | — |
| feed subscription | #17 | #20 | — |
| web publishing | #19 | #19 | 0 |
| real time notifications | #20 | #23 | up 1 |
| wordpress publishing | #21 | #21 | up 1 |
| feed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
77 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 16 listed. 61 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “feed” for “atom”. “feed” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “atom” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 67.8K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
3
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v4.0.1 · 15 Jun 2026
34
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 51% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “100K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3.9 years ago; the previous band took 13 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 18 Jun 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ totalgaz3.5y ago
Just learnt more on the benefits of using WebSub a.k.a PubSubHubbub and love that this plugin did the necessary code to the feed instantly. I can see it worked as a newly published blog was discovered instantly by Googlebot after publish using the marked up feed url that I had submitted to search console sitemaps.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ upgradeorid3.7y ago
Good and simple plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dmsr4.3y ago
Je l’installe systématiquement depuis bien longtemps sur tous mes sites!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Adebowale Adekoya6.7y ago
This is the best update plugin so far.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ fredhead13.0y ago
I needed pubsubhubbub, whatever that is, as part of my WordPress install and this plugin made it brain dead easy to add that capability to my online magazine. So thanks! Now I have to work on figuring out what it does beyond handling behind the scenes notifications of new content through Superfeedr. 😎
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ julien5113.4y ago
PubSubHubbub is now supported by The Old Reader, Feedly, Newsblur and several others 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 4.0.1 Fixed http_headers_useragent filter being applied without the required $url argument (since WP 5.1), which could cause a fatal ArgumentCountError when other plugins hook into it (props @sybrew, #36 ) Raised the minimum P 4.0.1
- — Version 4.0.0 Added WebSub Subscriber API with hooks for consumer plugins Deprecated all pubsubhubbub_* hooks in favor of websub_* prefix (old hooks still work) Replaced Grunt and Docker with wp-env for local development Fixed double- 4.0.0
- — Version 3.2.1 fix: empty option on fresh install leads to broken feed links 3.2.1
- — Version 3.2.0 improved validating, sanitizing, and escaping simplified code 3.2.0
- — Version 3.1.4 add Content-Type header to WebSub requests 3.1.4
- — Version 3.1.3 update configuration files, fix typos, update dependencies 3.1.3
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (4.0.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 4.4 WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) <= 3.1.4 - Authenticated (Admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2024-01-24 CVE-2024-0688 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.1.4 Patched in 3.2.0
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 15 languages, 10 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
7 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A WebSub plugin for WordPress that enables real-time publishing and subscription capabilities."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 7 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 7 of 7 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions REST API.
- ✓ Headings and lists 4 headings and 4 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,367 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "indieweb" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2022-11-22 200K+ → 100K+ down after 391 days in tier
- 2021-10-27 100K+ → 200K+ up after 590 days in tier
- 2020-03-16 200K+ → 100K+ down after 468 days in tier
- 2018-12-04 100K+ → 200K+ up after 1055 days in tier
- 2016-01-14 90K+ → 100K+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
- P PuSHPress 20K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags D
- W WP Pubsubhubbub 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
RSS for Yandex Turbo 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag B -
RSS Includes Pages 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Easy Twitter Feed Widget Plugin 10K+ installs · 3.8★ · 1 shared tag D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/pubsubhubbub" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub): 100K+ active installs, 5.0★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/pubsubhubbub
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