E-commerce API Best Practices for 2025

Building robust e-commerce APIs requires careful consideration of many factors. Here are the key best practices we recommend.

Error Handling

Always implement proper error handling:

try {
  const order = await cart.createOrder(orderData);
} catch (error) {
  if (error.status === 429) {
    // Handle rate limiting
  } else if (error.status === 400) {
    // Handle validation errors
  }
}

Rate Limiting

Respect rate limits and implement exponential backoff:

async function makeRequestWithRetry(url, options, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    try {
      return await fetch(url, options);
    } catch (error) {
      if (error.status === 429 && i < maxRetries - 1) {
        await new Promise(resolve => 
          setTimeout(resolve, Math.pow(2, i) * 1000)
        );
      } else {
        throw error;
      }
    }
  }
}

Security

• Always use HTTPS
• Never expose API keys in client-side code
• Implement proper authentication
• Validate all user inputs
• Use environment variables for sensitive data

Performance

• Implement caching where appropriate
• Use pagination for large datasets
• Optimize database queries
• Monitor API response times

Following these practices will help you build reliable, secure, and performant e-commerce applications.