As the name suggests, APIs are treated with high priority in API-first development.
As new technologies emerge, it is necessary to establish a connection between them, and the APIs facilitate these connections.
APIs have been around for nearly 20 years.
But, earlier, developers used to focus on product development first, and the need to establish a connection with software and devices came as an afterthought.
However, API-first development has major benefits – the most important being it is user-focused.
The method allows developers to work in parallel, reducing development time and costs.
Web application design, development, and security can all be enhanced with the help of the API-first model.
Moreover, it reduces the risk of failure of a project ensuring that all the APIs are reliable and consistent.
Thus, API-first development is becoming a major trend in web development nowadays.
Benefits of API-first model in Web Development
Besides being developer-friendly, API-first development comes with tremendous benefits like:
- Reduces the learning curve of developers as well-documented and consistent APIs are provided.
- It can lead to a more adaptable application.
- It can be designed with the needs of the front end as a priority to create a more efficient API.
- It is more efficient as it can reduce development time.
- APIs are reliable and consistent, thus reducing the risk of system failure. They can also be easily tested independently on the frontend.
- Better security with easier control to access to the API.
- Stakeholders can provide feedback on the design of an API before any code is written.
Early adopters:
- Netflix
- Etsy