API Integration Best Practices

Plan Before You Build

Before creating connections, ask yourself:

1. What data do I actually need?

   • Don't fetch entire product catalogs if you only need 6 featured items
   • Use API parameters to limit data

2. How often does the data change?

   • Static content → longer cache times
   • Frequently updated → shorter cache times

3. What happens if the API fails?

   • Plan for error states
   • Consider fallback content

Keep Connections Focused

Good: One connection per use case

✓ "Homepage Featured Products" (6 products)
✓ "Product Category: Electronics" (12 products)
✓ "Sale Items" (filtered by sale_price)

Avoid: One giant connection for everything

✗ "All Products" (1000+ products)

Why?

• Faster page loads
• Easier to maintain
• More flexible caching per use case

Use Query Parameters Wisely

Fetch only what you need:

# Good - specific request
/products?per_page=6&status=publish&featured=true

# Bad - fetch everything
/products

Common useful parameters:

Name Connections Clearly

Use descriptive names that explain purpose:

✓ "Homepage - Latest Blog Posts"
✓ "Product Grid - Sale Items"
✓ "Footer - Contact Info"

✗ "API 1"
✗ "Products"
✗ "Test"

Good names help you:

• Find connections quickly
• Remember what each connection does
• Troubleshoot issues faster

Map Only Needed Fields

Don't map every field the API returns. Map only what you'll actually use in YOOtheme.

Benefits:

• Cleaner field selection in YOOtheme
• Easier to understand at a glance
• Better performance

Example for a product display:

✓ Map: name, price, image, link
✗ Skip: internal_id, created_at, meta_data, variations[]

Use Meaningful Field Names

Rename fields to be clear in YOOtheme:

Document Your Connections

Keep notes on:

• What the connection is for
• API credentials location (not the actual keys!)
• Any special configuration
• When/where it's used on the site

Use the Description field in API Mapper for quick reference.

Test Before Going Live

Always test new connections:

1. Use the connection tester to verify data
2. Check field mappings match expected values
3. Test on a staging site first
4. Verify error handling - what shows if API fails?