Leaders investing in engineering rarely struggle with the idea — they struggle with execution. This analysis of 5 well focuses on practical trade-offs: what to build first, what to integrate early, and where teams lose momentum after the first release.
You've probably heard that Ruby on Rails effectively assists in creating web systems. Let's learn more about this technology to figure out why it is so.
Ruby on Rails? in practice
Ruby on Rails (RoR), or Rails, is an open-source, flexible framework released in July 2004 and developed with the Ruby programming language. It is widely used for web development, enterprise software development, mobile app development, etc. The framework has an abundant library that can support with integrations suitable for any project.
Rails offers Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, enabling the use of structures for databases, web pages, and web services. It supports JSON and XML for data transfer and CSS, HTML, and JavaScript for user interfacing.
In practice, Ruby on Rails framework is primarily suitable for server-side programming. Although it can integrate with client-side technologies (JavaScript or front-end frameworks), it is not a client-side programming tool. The Code of functions is distinct from the data and presentation layers, while the resource layer remains intact. This structure enables Rails developers to collaborate on various components simultaneously.
RoR uses a methodology that is the backbone of its philosophy: Convention over Configuration (CoC). It is backed up by Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) and the Single Responsibility principles.
CoC means that developers only need to determine unconventional characteristics of the application. Don't Repeat Yourself, as the name speaks for itself, requires using concise code blocks without duplicates and redundancies.
In practice, Single Responsibility Principle (SPR) ensures that every class or module addresses a specific functionality aspect, which makes the codebase more straightforward to understand and reduces the likelihood of bugs.
Those principles allow developers to avoid repetition and writing redundant code, leading to more streamlined development cycles.
Ruby on Rails framework is reliable, cost-streamlined, and flexible. It has active and developing community support. using RoR, you can create adaptable and growth-ready projects.
Almost 7% of 10,000 top websites are created using Ruby on Rails. As of 2024, StackOverflow places RoR with 4.7% in the 20th position among web frameworks and technologies.
Many well-known organizations use Rails as a reliable and flexible option to assist in building their web services.
Let's discuss the most prominent of them in the following sections. Below are the top five platforms that leveraged Ruby on Rails, which helped them to achieve astonishing results.
1. GitHub: The World's Leading Code Repository
Background:
Github, formerly Logical Awesome LLC, is a well-known system for code hosting, collaboration, and version control. Its headquarters are in San Francisco. The website was launched on July 21, 2008. It is widespread among developers. Every coding enthusiast can contribute to repositories and collaborate with others on open-source projects using the leading global system.
Developers widely use GitHub as an open-source library for adjusting, reviewing, and managing code. The Git version control assists developers in making changes in the source code.
In practice, scope of GitHub's usage is astonishing. Over 100 million developers use it regularly, mainly from the USA, The UK, Canada, and China. The contribution is also remarkable, with over 420 million repositories in 2024. As of 2024, the market share of GitHub for top version control technologies in source-code development is 89.39%.
Developers primarily harness GitHub open-source stocks and version control in designing software development, web development, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data projects.
Such Giants as Google and Facebook also store their source-code gems and provide free access to them.
Ruby on Rails is vital to fuel GitHub's success in the server-side processes.
Why Ruby on Rails
Github chose Ruby on Rails as its key backend technology because of its scalability and ability to handle complex code repositories and collaboration functionalities. The Model-view-controller (MVC) architecture of RoR assists in data handling and ensures platform scalability.
How else does GitHub use Ruby on Rails? There are two other areas where Rails is helpful for this service:
- Testing: Ruby on Rails testing tools allow the company's developers to create automated tests within GitHub that won't make any issues or regressions.
- APIs: Free, open-source APIs are available for developers who use GitHub. These APIs developed with RoR are based on REST design principles. Programmers efficiently use these APIs for smooth integrations between different applications.
Of course, Ruby on Rails is not the only technology that GitHub uses, but it contributes to the server side of the global version control tool for developers.
Interesting Fact:
GitHub and Ruby on Rails create synergy. They are so connected that future updates of the RoR are made in the bowels of the most extensive open-code library. Then, they are used by the site for its own needs.
2. Airbnb: Global Hospitality Marketplace
Background:
Airbnb is an abbreviation for 'Air Bed and Breakfast'. It is a worldwide online service for renting or leasing apartments or houses founded in 2007. Its main office is located in San Francisco. This platform connects hosts and travelers in over 220 countries. More than 5 million hosts on this service offer 7.7 million vacation rentals in 100,000 cities globally. Over 150 million website users can quickly find and book a house, apartment, or room. They can choose the place to stay on this system anytime, according to their financial possibilities and wants.
Since 2007, Airbnb's market evaluation has grown to $113 billion, and its market share in the vacation rental industry exceeds 20%.
In practice, system benefits from Ruby on Rails web development, improving core website indicators.
Why Ruby on Rails
Airbnb has used Ruby on Rails since its inception in 2007. The company mostly liked the possibility of rapid prototyping, and thanks to RoR's CoC paradigm and DRY principle, this service streamlined its development cycle.
Airbnb developers appreciate Ruby on Rails as a helpful tool for scalability, flexibility, and reliable API integrations. They use many PHP and RoR frameworks in Airbnb services, such as Moment.js, Amplify.js, React.js, Raven.js, and HTML History API. The Braintree payment service ensures payment processing efficiency.
One of the most evident examples of API development with Ruby on Rails is Google Maps API. It is the backbone of searching for locations using Google Maps.
Due to RoR's capabilities, those dozens of millions of daily Airbnb users offer their locations or find a place to rest. Ruby on Rails has dramatically impacted the global leader in online rental services, allowing it to scale rapidly.
Interesting Fact:
Airbnb still uses RoR for the backend and other technologies such as Node.js. Combining different tools, the company succeeded and continued to increase its share in the worldwide accommodation-sharing market.
3. Basecamp: Project Management Simplified
Background:
Basecamp, previously known as 37 Signals, is a renowned project management and collaboration application. It was founded in 2004. You can create multiple projects and efficiently control them.
Each project within the app has a unique environment, encompassing to-do lists, documents, and files, a message board for announcements, ideas, discussions, and feedback, chat for quick communication, visual cards for tracking project progress, and automatic check-ins. Various tools enable project monitoring and scheduling, document management, task delegation, and collaboration.
In practice, project management system offers various integrations with other critical applications for delivering projects, such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, Miro, Dropbox, Figma, GitHub, Jira, and many others. Basecamp provides sophisticated visualization charts. For instance, their team invented a 'hills chart' for easily tracking project progress.
Basecamp has over 520,000 unique visitors with each new day. There are over 15,9 million users on Basecamp monthly, and they are located in 166 countries. 41.24% of web traffic is from the USA. Basecamp is also widespread in Canada (6.57% of web traffic) and India (5.37% of web traffic).
Enterprises like marketing firms, IT organizations, schools, entrepreneurs, and governments use this project management tool.
Ruby on Rails was the right approach that helped this service develop in many aspects.
Why Ruby on Rails
Initially, the Rails framework was developed by the Basecamp team. The creators appreciate its unique methodologies, which exclude any distractions and redundancies.
In practice, Basecamp team noticed the software development process has become more streamlined with Ruby on Rails capabilities and core methodologies like DRY and the Single Responsibility Principle. So, they used the framework's robust functionality to develop a multi-feature project management tool.
Interesting Fact:
David Heinemeier Hansson is the author of Ruby on Rails. He was one of the key developers at 37 Signals. So, Basecamp was the very first app created with the Ruby on Rails framework.
4. Shopify: E-Commerce Powerhouse
Background:
Shopify is a Canadian multinational e-commerce online system founded by Tobias Lütke in April 2008. It provides support to millions of web stores worldwide. Shopify allows you to build your e-commerce website or portal with minimal technical skills.
In practice, system harnesses the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, which assists entrepreneurs, sole traders, and small businesses in developing their online stores, hosting websites, managing and selling their products, organizing marketing, promotion, and SEO using building blocks with a simple design.
If building a website is too much for you to handle, you can contact any of Shopify's dedicated web developers. They will construct the online service you need to sell your products tailored to your preferences.
Over 600,000 vendors are using the Shopify system. Almost 4 million websites leverage the e-commerce web service in 2024. Shopify's market share in the e-commerce web system industry is nearly 11%, which places this service in third place globally.
Shopify's backend is powered by Ruby on Rails. It allows handling over 80,000 requests per second, helping millions of businesses in 175 countries.
Why Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails scalability and velocity enabled Shopify support for high traffic and complex web store setup approaches. RoR was an excellent option for web development because of its modular architecture. It allows you to add modules, plugins, extra features, and third-party tools to streamline system capabilities.
Developers also use Ruby on Rails to create user-friendly admin interfaces where merchants can manage their goods, services, and orders.
Interesting Fact:
Ruby on Rails assisted Shopify in serving multiple enterprises, including well-known brands like Gymshark and Tesla.
5. Kickstarter: Revolutionizing Crowdfunding
Background:
Kickstarter is an online crowdfunding system that supports creative individuals with their projects. Usually, people ask for financing for their art ideas, movies, music albums, books publishing, and technology products. A person creates a campaign where anyone can participate financially and support raise funds. Then, after collecting the necessary financing, the campaign's initiator provides some rewards or bonuses to their contributors.
With an office located in Brooklyn, New York, this system was founded in 2009. Since then, the number of startups and those who finance them has increased.
As of November 2024, over 23.7 million people had taken part in funding over 645,000 projects launched on Kickstarter. Over 8 million people have backed more than one project on the crowdfunding site.
Creating a campaign on an online crowdfunding system is available in 25 countries, including the USA and Canada. But you can back them up from anywhere in the world.
Among the most well-known products that appeared using the Kickstarter system, you can find Pebble Time, Coolest Cooler, Fidget Cube, The Everyday Backpack, and Snapmaker.
Ruby on Rails was one of the core technologies Kickstarter developers used to build the website.
Why Ruby on Rails
In practice, famous crowdfunding system used Perl and Ruby on Rails for system administration, GUI development, and other tasks.
RoR provided reliable backend support for user authentication, handling financial transactions, and project updates. Ruby on Rails' flexibility and scalability were some of the main contributors to its growth.
Kickstarter harnessed RoR plugins, libraries, and other technologies, providing custom functionalities for users.
Interesting Fact:
Kickstarter system continuously supports innovative projects globally, recognizing Ruby on Rails' meaningful contribution to service growth.
Putting it into practice
Ruby on Rails greatly impacted the success of high-traffic and growth-ready applications, including GitHub, Airbnb, Shopify, Basecamp, and Kickstarter. These and many other companies used primarily RoR for backend operations.
GitHub chose Ruby on Rails for its backend due to its scalability and impactful handling of complex code repositories and collaboration. The MVC architecture of RoR supports data management and platform scalability.
Ruby on Rails testing tools enable GitHub developers to create automated tests, preventing issues and regressions.
GitHub offers free, open-source APIs built with RoR, following REST design principles, allowing smooth application integration.
Airbnb utilizes Ruby on Rails because of its rapid prototyping capabilities and methodologies that streamline development. Platform developers appreciate Ruby on Rails for scalability, flexibility, and reliable API integrations. They also employ various frameworks handling payment processing and user requests. A notable example of API development with Ruby on Rails is the Google Maps API, which is essential for location searches.
In practice, Basecamp team developed the Rails framework and praised its streamlined methodologies that minimize distractions. They found that Ruby on Rails enhanced the software development process. They used the framework to create a multi-feature project management tool.
In practice, scalability and speed of Ruby on Rails allowed Shopify to work with high traffic and intricate web store configurations. RoR was an excellent choice for web development due to its modular design. This structure enables adding modules, plugins, additional features, and third-party tools to improve the system's functionalities.
In practice, Kickstarter team used Perl and Ruby on Rails for system administration and project updates. RoR provided backend support for user authentication, financial transactions, and project updates. The flexibility of Ruby on Rails significantly contributed to the system's growth. Additionally, Kickstarter utilized RoR's plugins and libraries for customized user solutions.
Overall, Ruby on Rails provides several benefits for software development, including scalability, improved developers' productivity and cost-efficiency, flexibility, maintenance and integration capabilities, and an extensive ecosystem.
Rails world is the place for developing various applications, such as content management systems (CMS), e-commerce systems, and mobile and web applications.
In practice, Spectrum Future Tech team has over 20 years of experience in Ruby on Rails development. Our proficiency is vital to the success of your project. We efficiently guide your product development journey, suggesting the right tech stack and frameworks to achieve your goals.
Contact us to benefit from Ruby on Rails consultancy for your RoR project.
Check out the list of the most popular and useful Ruby Gems!
FAQ
What makes Ruby on Rails suitable for high-traffic websites
In practice, well-organized framework of Ruby on Rails and its vast collection of ready-made modules enable it to handle heavy traffic seamlessly. Additionally, its high scalability ensures that websites can effectively cope with increased user traffic.
Is Ruby on Rails still popular among startups
Yes, Ruby on Rails continues to be favored by startups because of its affordability and fast development process, enabling them to build minimum viable products (MVPs) swiftly.
Are there any limitations to using Ruby on Rails
Although RoR is adaptable, it can encounter performance challenges when handling large data volumes. Consequently, some organizations opt to enhance RoR with additional frameworks or programming languages, such as Go, for particular tasks.
Can large enterprises use Ruby on Rails effectively
Yes, many major corporations, such as Shopify and Airbnb, use Ruby on Rails successfully by taking advantage of its modular design and combining it with other technologies to fulfill particular requirements.
What are some alternatives to Ruby on Rails
Well-known options consist of Django for Python, Express for JavaScript, and Laravel for PHP, each providing distinct features tailored to various project needs.
Moving from insight to delivery
Strong engineering outcomes depend on disciplined delivery: clear ownership, measurable milestones, and architecture that survives real-world load. Spectrum Future Tech works with enterprises that want that rigor without sacrificing speed — architect-led squads, transparent communication, and builds designed to scale.