R
Rishikesh Baidya
Author
April 5, 20249 min read
Development
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A well-designed API makes integration a pleasure. A poorly designed one creates endless frustration. At Softechinfra, our development team has built APIs for projects like AppliedView and ExamReady that developers love to use.
80%
Integration Time
5x
Fewer Support Tickets
99.9%
Uptime Target
50ms
P95 Latency
Core Design Principles
Consistency
Same patterns everywhere—naming, responses, errors
Simplicity
Intuitive names, sensible defaults, clear docs
Flexibility
Filtering, pagination, field selection
Versioning
Evolution without breaking changes
RESTful Design Patterns
"APIs are user interfaces for developers. Apply the same care to API design that you'd apply to frontend UX—consistency, clarity, and helpful error messages."
Resource Naming
- Use nouns, not verbs:
GET /usersnotGET /getUsers - Use plural nouns:
/usersnot/user - Nest logically:
GET /users/123/orders
HTTP Methods
| Method | Purpose | Idempotent |
|---|---|---|
| GET | Read resource(s) | Yes |
| POST | Create resource | No |
| PUT | Replace entire resource | Yes |
| PATCH | Partial update | Yes |
| DELETE | Remove resource | Yes |
Response Design
✅ Key Pattern: Consistent response envelope with
data, meta, and pagination fields. Include request IDs for debugging and correlation.
Status Codes
- 2xx Success: 200 OK, 201 Created, 204 No Content
- 4xx Client Errors: 400 Bad Request, 401 Unauthorized, 404 Not Found, 422 Validation
- 5xx Server Errors: 500 Internal Error, 503 Service Unavailable
Error Handling
⚠️ Common Mistake: Generic error messages. Always provide specific, actionable error details with field-level validation messages and error codes for programmatic handling.
Security Essentials
HTTPS
Auth
Rate Limit
Validate
Log
- Always use HTTPS—no exceptions
- Use API keys for server-to-server, OAuth 2.0 for users
- Implement rate limiting with clear headers
- Validate and sanitize all input
- Log requests for debugging and security audits
Documentation Standards
💡 Pro Tip: Use OpenAPI/Swagger for interactive documentation. Generate SDKs automatically and provide working code examples in multiple languages.
Essential documentation elements:
- Quick start guide with authentication
- Complete endpoint reference
- Request/response examples for every endpoint
- Error code reference with solutions
- Changelog and migration guides
For related backend patterns, see our Microservices Communication Guide.
Building an API?
Our development team designs and builds APIs that developers love to integrate.
Discuss Your API →Learn more in our Full-Stack TypeScript Guide and see API design in action on TalkDrill.
Tags:
APIRESTBackendBest PracticesSecurity