Top 3 benefits of REST APIs

One of the most popular types of APIs are Representational State Transfer APIs (or REST / RESTful APIs). The use of REST APIs has grown exponentially over the years and, today, many developers use these APIs for critical projects. 

So what are the benefits of REST APIs and why has it become this popular? Four words: lightweight, scalable, flexible, and independent. 

1. Lightweight 

One of the main benefits of REST APIs is that they rely on the HTTP standard, which means it’s format-agonistic and you can use XML, JSON, HTML, etc. This makes REST APIs fast, and lightweight — which is necessary for mobile app projects, internet of things devices, and more. 

2. Independent

Another benefit of REST APIs is the fact that the client and server are independent. In other words, the REST protocol separates the data storage and the UI from the server. This means that developers can work on different areas of a project independently and try out multiple developer environments as needed. 

3. Scalable and flexible

One of the third benefits of REST APIs, and perhaps one of the most important, is scalability and flexibility . REST APIs can be scaled quickly primarily due to the separation between the client and the server. Additionally, developers can also easily integrate REST APIs without much added work. 

The benefits of REST APIs are endless 

We highlighted the main 3 advantages of REST APIs — but the benefits don’t stop there. REST APIs are also efficient, high-performing, consume less bandwidth, and are cost-effective because developers can use them without third-party tools.

Now that you know the benefits of REST APIs, you can start building them! Building an API is easy, but designing an API that meets business objectives, pleases your users, and is long-lived — that's hard. Check out our guide on how to design the perfect API.