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A Complete All-Inclusive Guide on API Development [Working, Tools, Types, Best Practices]

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Prismetric Technologies
A Complete All-Inclusive Guide on API Development [Working, Tools, Types, Best Practices]

Why is API an integral part of mobile app development? Here's a guide to understanding everything about API development and its importance in business transformation.

The realm of API is extensive and is constantly expanding at a rapid pace. The term API (Application Programming Interface) has been ruling the roots and it is playing a bigger role in the economy than ever before.

A Comprehensive Guide to API Development - PM logo

APIs drive the modern world and we find them everywhere. Whether it is making online payments or logging into our favorite social media platform, people use API many times in their daily life.

Useful APIs are known for enabling effective communication between the products and the services. Moreover, the reliance of developers on APIs increased by a great deal in 2020 and will continue to do so in 2021 as well.

Therefore, in this blog, we will study API development, its types, best practices, terminologies, etc. Moreover, we’ll also look at the must-have features in API development and the factors that affect its development process.

Did you know as compared to 2019, 61% of the developers used APIs more in 2020?

What is App Programming Interface (API)?

App Programming Interface (API) is intermediary software that allows the applications to interact with each other. The API can be a database system, web-based system, etc. It is a set of requirements, instructions, and standards that allows the mobile application to offer better services or employ better features from some other applications.

The usage of API is very diverse. It is used in almost all mobile apps, websites, software, computer games, etc. One of API’s better USPs is that mobile app developers don’t need to begin everything from scratch if they build for the same platform. APIs can be used to show the data that is stored in another platform of the website.

APIs are immensely powerful as they allow developers to build their product on someone else’s work. In addition, API allows business organizations to grow into newer areas and expand their user base.

Let us look at some leading business organizations that have applied APIs and expanded their business by leaps and bounds.

Twitter

Twitter

Since its inception, Twitter has focused on its APIs hugely. Because of API, the developers have access to a considerable amount of data and it becomes easier for them to get information about the new trends, statistics, hashtags, etc.

Twitter has dominated the microblogging universe and this dominance has been possible as they tightened up their APIs. They also compelled their larger partners to pay for specific kinds of access. Moreover, the usage of APIs allowed Twitter to grow without sacrificing any of its long-time profits

Quora

Quora

 The majority of the business organizations use APIs internally and Quora is an excellent example of this. Quora has an API, but the platform doesn’t offer any access to external app developers. On the contrary, it uses the API to keep the web applications and mobile apps in complete synchronization.

Internal API has its set of perks. The developers can use the same database, share code, business rules, etc., to power the desktop app, mobile app, website, etc. Moreover, since the API is internal, you don’t have to worry about the competitors stealing your content or mobile app developers misusing the data as a business owner.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp has a set of well-documented APIs. With the use of the APIs, the users can build customized templates from their own website data. In addition, it is easier to import a large number of existing users from the database and promote the email campaign in newer ways.

With the APIs, the numbers of combinations the user can make are limitless through Mailchimp and this opens more revenue options for the platform as well. Moreover, for a SaaS platform, API can be a great way to increase engagement.

Also, it is advisable to hire dedicated developers who have in-depth knowledge of API development and ensure a free-flowing overall app development process.

Continue reading: A Complete All-Inclusive Guide on API Development [Working, Tools, Types, Best Practices]

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