In the API space, everybody is talking about REST. But really, why should APIs be RESTful? Great products are designed with rigorous customer focus, a deep understanding of the customers, their needs and desires. And with these ingredients, great customer
Consumer-Oriented API Design
APIs are often built according to the ideas of the API provider without considering the needs and wishes of potential API consumers. Investing time and energy in building an API that no one wants is a waste of resources. It
Why do I need OpenAPI, Swagger or RAML?
I have heard the question “Why do I need OpenAPI, Swagger or RAML?” so many times, that I finally decided to sit down and write about it. Once an API has been designed, it needs to be communicated to team members,
APIs are Products
To design great APIs, we first need to realize, that APIs are in fact products. APIs are products that are offered on a market to satisfy the needs of a group of customers. This means that APIs are not individually
Why is API Design important?
In the API space, everybody is talking about REST. But really, why should APIs be RESTful? Great products are designed with rigorous customer focus, a deep understanding of the customers, their needs and desires. And with these ingredients, great customer
What is the Business Model of your API?
APIs come from the technology side. But quite recently APIs have evolved from “something that the techies do” to a product with serious business value. The IPOs of API-based companies, such as Twilio, are examples of that mind shift. So
From Good to Great API
The first thing we see as users of a new web application is typically its user interface. This is why user-interface design is so important for web applications. Now, user interface design is for web applications, what API frontend design
What is API Design?
Any type of design requires taking well-informed decisions. The decisions are intended to make the product better in some way, e.g. provide more functionality, provide better quality or a better user experience. Better design decisions typically lead to better products.
API Design Book Available Today
After 1.5 years of work, I now have an answer to one of the most common questions I get: What are the best practices for RESTful API Design? My answer to the question can be found the recently released RESTful
Let developers try your APIs without registration!
What does it feel like for a developer wanting to try out a new API? Developer: “It feels like the API provider is getting in the way! He wants: a full registration, with a username, password, my name, my address,