Previously, in our blog articles we’ve dedicated much time for discovering and explaining API terminology in general and its effect on eCommerce in particular. However, another field in this niche has to be explored - soi-disant developer-centric approach. Many efforts, time and money are spent to provide users with the best experience through product design. So, when an API development takes place, there is a necessity to provide excellent developer experience through Application Programming Interface design.
Developers clearly understand that the key step in building products is to concentrate on how their creations will be used by the end user. This focus on excellent usability appears to be also central for great API design. While product developers strive to improve user experience, an Application Programming Interface designers should concentrate on the developer experience (DX).
So, what is considered to be principal while improving DX? You just have to move the focus of development from technical aspects of the backend systems exposed by APIs, to the way used by that API to be expended by programmers. This can truly improve the experience of using it. Ultimately, great API usability will take effect on high adoption rates and as a result - low integration cost. Both indicators are similarly important for any API platforms.
It can be said that there are a lot of different strategies to make those improvements. But a real rule of thumb is that API developers have to create them from the perspective of the target programmers. There are a number of goals that API designer should be aware of:
- Well-fixed troubleshooting. Provide excellent error descriptions and messages.
- API change management. Implement an API versioning approach.
- Improved visibility. Provide log and usage access.
- Performing trust. Communication is a foundation of stability and longevity.
So, as it was mentioned previously in our articles, API2Cart is an online service that provides single API to perform integration with 40+ shopping carts. And this Application Programming Interface appears to be a key to multiple doors that many developers use to establish connection to such industry leaders like Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop and others.
That is why, our Dev Team designed its API with programmers in mind. API2Cart provides both static and interactive (Swagger) documentation to make the service a clear tool to use. They outline best patterns on how to work with it in PHP, C# and Java. Integration code samples are presented at your disposal to help you get started.
Interactive docs (Swagger) are given to show how each API method responses. Errors are also described for facilitating troubleshooting. Moreover, all API calls are logged and developer will be able to track what went wrong. Moreover, communication appears to be essential part of API2Cart's work. Therefore, our dedicated tech team are always ready to help you to solve all the dizzying issues.
If you are interested in cooperation with API2Cart or there are some questions to ask, schedule a FREE Consultation and our expert will help to strike all of them!
