RESTful API Design Best Practices

A well-designed API is crucial for developer experience and application maintainability. Here are the best practices I follow when designing REST APIs.

Use Proper HTTP Methods

Code

GET    /users       - List users
GET    /users/123   - Get user 123
POST   /users       - Create user
PUT    /users/123   - Update user 123
PATCH  /users/123   - Partial update
DELETE /users/123   - Delete user 123

Use Plural Nouns for Resources

Code

✅ /users
✅ /products
✅ /orders

❌ /user
❌ /getProducts
❌ /createOrder

Use Proper Status Codes

Python

# Success
200 OK           # General success
201 Created      # Resource created
204 No Content   # Successful deletion

# Client errors
400 Bad Request  # Invalid input
401 Unauthorized # Authentication required
403 Forbidden    # No permission
404 Not Found    # Resource not found

# Server errors
500 Internal Server Error
503 Service Unavailable

Implement Pagination

JSON

GET /users?page=1&limit=20

{
  "data": [...],
  "meta": {
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 20,
    "total": 150,
    "totalPages": 8
  }
}

Use Consistent Response Format

JSON

// Success
{
  "success": true,
  "data": { ... },
  "message": "User created successfully"
}

// Error
{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Email is required",
    "details": [...]
  }
}

Version Your API

Code

/api/v1/users
/api/v2/users

Filter, Sort, and Search

Code

GET /users?status=active&sort=-createdAt&search=john

Use HATEOAS for Discoverability

JSON

{
  "id": 123,
  "name": "John",
  "_links": {
    "self": "/users/123",
    "orders": "/users/123/orders",
    "profile": "/users/123/profile"
  }
}

Conclusion

Following these practices will make your API intuitive, consistent, and easy to maintain as it grows.

REST

API

Backend

Best Practices