REST API Design Basics — Endpoints, Status Codes & JSON
Design RESTful APIs: HTTP methods, status codes, resource naming, versioning, and error response patterns.
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RESTful API Design Principles
REST APIs expose resources via URLs and HTTP verbs. GET /users, POST /users, PATCH /users/1 — predictable patterns every frontend consumes.
Why REST API design Matters
Every frontend talks to REST APIs — designing predictable endpoints reduces integration bugs and documentation burden.
Use nouns for resources (/users not /getUsers), HTTP verbs for actions, and consistent JSON error shapes with status codes.
REST API design — Key Ideas You Must Know
- GET read, POST create, PUT/PATCH update, DELETE remove
- Status: 200 OK, 201 Created, 400 Bad Request, 404 Not Found
- Plural nouns: /articles not /article
- JSON request and response bodies
- Consistent error shape
Practice REST API design with Free Lessons
Build a simple API with Next.js route handlers after JavaScript fetch lessons on Sturdee.
Tip: Free interactive lesson: /tutorials/javascript/javascript_fetch — practice REST API design with runnable code on Sturdee.
REST API Design Basics — FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
REST vs GraphQL?+
REST is simpler to start. GraphQL when clients need flexible queries at scale.
Continue learning interactively
Free tutorial: /tutorials/javascript/javascript_fetch →