Are you planning on creating your own e-commerce website? If so, then you need to make sure that it’s properly outfitted with the e-commerce API elements necessary to make it functional, reliable, and easy to use.
APIs, or application programming interfaces, allow different applications to easily share data, as well as utilize each other’s features. As such, by including specific API elements that are tied to powerful e-commerce apps into your website, you can take advantage of those apps to make your website more user-friendly and proactive towards e-commerce.
Some of these APIs may also include a complete API toolkit for teams and enterprise setups, which can help with API management when your company and customer base grows. Fortunately, there are many API development tools like those from Stoplight that can fit your specific e-commerce needs.
With that said, there are many API elements to choose from, and it can be difficult to decide which to include in your website. To help you with this, the following is a list of the must-have API elements when it comes to creating a robust e-commerce homepage.
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Catalog API:
This API element is useful in helping you create, edit, and manage your product catalog. What’s more, it also allows you to update your entire product line quickly, which is something that can be difficult to accomplish manually if you have a large inventory. Finally, this API supports seamless integration with other e-commerce systems, such as those that handle point-of-sale systems, inventory management, financial reporting, and others.
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Site search API:
No e-commerce website should ever go without a site search function, especially if it has a wide and diverse range of products on sale. By having one included in your website, you empower your customers to quickly find and order the specific product they need while also allowing them to discover new brands that they may find compelling.
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Payment API:
Does your online shopping website accept electronic payments? If so, then it needs a payment API in its list of elements. Including this API ensures that your e-commerce site has everything that it needs to process electronic payments reliably and securely. Moreover, providing multiple payment options also opens up your e-commerce site to a larger customer base.
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Shipping API:
This API helps automate shipping rate calculations for your customers upon checkout or even at the shopping cart stage. Not only is this convenient, but it also helps customers avoid the sticker shock that can hit them when they view their shipping charges at the very last stage of the transaction. This sticker shock can cause some customers to cancel their orders, resulting in a loss of business. Having a shipping API helps prevent that. What’s more, APIs of this variety also comes with other features such as shipping label creation and tracking number generation, both of which help significantly when it comes to fulfilling orders.
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Currency exchange rate API:
If you serve an international customer base, then you need to ensure that they can see how much your products would cost in their local currency, independent of their location. Do so by including a robust currency exchange rate API on your website.
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Social login API:
This API allows your customers to log into your online shopping website by using their social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter. This lets them skip the account creation process with a single click, which encourages a faster buy-in.
The key to an effective e-commerce website is a robust list of API elements
Your online shopping website may have everything it needs to make it an attractive choice for your target customer demographic: the lowest prices, the widest product range, and even a slick website style. However, without the proper e-commerce API elements to give your website the features and functionality, it needs to make each sale easy and stress-free, your website may find it difficult to stand out from its competitors. Prevent this by checking the list of essential API elements above and see what crucial element your website may be missing.
