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Digital Marketing

Best APIs for web designers and developers

Application Program Interface, popularly known as API is a set of practices, procedures, and tools which are used for building various software applications. An API defines how different software components should interact with each other. It helps in enhancing the user experience on your website and also streamlines many processes, making it easy to manage the functioning of the website. Therefore, choosing the best API tool is a crucial decision as it helps in the development, designing and testing of the interfaces.

Google has been working hard towards making things easier for web developers and designers. APIHound says Google has a repository of 50,000 APIs which can be used by designers to create world class websites.

If the statistics are true and even 1% of the APIs are useful, then the web developers and designers are looking at around 500 top quality APIs to support them.

Listed below are some of the best APIs for web designers and developers:

1. Google Analytics:

Nowadays, tracking web traffic on your website has become a must with Google Analytics. Google Analytics is not only about monitoring visitor activity, this API is very useful for:

  • Monitoring data like the conversion rates on your e-commerce website and value calculations for specific periods.
  • Creating and developing distinct tracking dashboards for your website backend work.
  • Tracking the sales funnel and its analysis.

The Google Analytics API provides you better access to Analytics data, and also helps you in modifying your requests for getting access to information and reports required by your website.

2. Google Geo-location (Maps)

Popularly known as Google Maps, this API is a universally recognized geo-location API from Google. No other API has seen the growth in demand for publicly available APIs than Google Maps. The geographic service provided by Google Maps is now available on millions of websites across the globe. It has become the standard embedding location maps on any website. With the growing rise in smartphone and mobile usage, Google Maps has fast started becoming the most necessary part of any developer’s API list.

However, it is not only a location highlighter API, it has many other uses which would be beneficial to your website.

  • Using Google Maps, you can create embedded maps according to your requirement, like having a street view or providing 360-degree pivot, etc.
  • You can display route data on the website along with real-time traffic data.
  • You can prepare search fields and forms using actual location data which match with the physical world locations.

3. Twitter

Most of the leading social media platforms are known to have their own APIs. However, if you want to include some of the valuable ones on your website, Facebook and Twitter are the best bet. Compared to Facebook, Twitter’s offering for web developers is a bit lighter. Using Twitter API you will be able embed Twitter feeds, posts, as well as share buttons on your website.

Twitter has a number of developer tools around their API which can help you create apps which can interact with all of the Twitter’s functions. Depending on your viewer pool, Twitter will help in creating a strong identity for your brand and also help in speeding up or completely getting rid of the registration process. The Twitter API can help in growing your reach, by enabling your customers or visitors to share your application with their personal Twitter followers. Though your app will be able to tweet only with the user’s permission, but a share from a known person will surely speed up and increase your reach.

4. Facebook

If you are looking at targeting a lot of users, integration with Facebook is your best bet. Facebook has over one billion active users, hence it won’t be difficult to find the right audience for you. Use the Facebook API for social login or for sharing.

Facebook offers APIS to developers which can help in improving their marketing efforts on Facebook itself. It also provides a set of few APIs and SDKs which can be used directly on websites. These APIs and SDKS help in:

  • Adding Facebook login as an option for registration
  • Embedding the various social media feeds and posts.
  • Tracking the conversions done through Facebook.

5. Dropbox

Dropbox API is a secure place where you can store files from your website. Saving files on Dropbox API is a very simple task. This API can also be used for handling several complex and difficult tasks like allowing your website visitors to upload documents or drop documents on to your Dropbox account. For example, uploading resumes. Dropbox API also facilitates e-signing of documents by employees or clients.

More than400 million users are using Dropbox for syncing their files and storing them. With the fast-changing technology, people are fast changing their devices. In such a situation storing customer files on Dropbox is more feasible than storing them on any computer or device the users are using. Developers can build and develop image gallery services, stationary site hosting using Dropbox.

Final words:

Some of the above mentioned APIS and many others which are not listed can help you really boost your abilities. With regular day to day problems or issues taken care of by APIs, you as a developer will be able to on development and designing.

You may not use all best APIS, but take your time and study the various APIs available in the market and pick the ones which match your customer base and website functionalities.

Velocity Consultancy is a professional Web Designing and Development Company providing comprehensive and cost-effective web solutions for a wide range of website design & development services. We are dedicated in assisting small to medium sized businesses establish an online presence. We help our clients in harnessing the wide reach of the Internet by designing and developing web solutions which will help them in marketing their products to a larger audience.