5 Tips for Taking Your API Out in Public

API professionals frequently talk about concepts like “Design First” and “API First”, both of which are great platitudes if you’re starting your API from scratch. However, most of us don’t work for brand new companies with zero APIs in their stack. It’s much more common to start your API program journey with a bunch of APIs built for internal use, often in developer-led projects that weren’t designed for close public scrutiny.With that in mind, you may occasionally find that a particular “for internal eyes only” API is actually going to be the focus behind your next big product release. Now, instead of living safely in the confines of your company, the API needs to be ready for prime time and serve as a building block for developers with a wide range of needs and preferences. It’s a tall order, so how do you make sure your API is ready to go?As more companies open up access to APIs, here are a few things to keep in mind:Start With “Why”When you’re told to build an API that completes a particular function, the first question you should ask is “Why?” Building an API that fits both the vision of your company and the needs of your customers is impossible before answering that essential question. Whether the goal is to build brand awareness, generate revenue, or to do anything in between, it is important to get to that “Aha!” moment – the place where you truly understand the vision.Dress for SuccessYour developer portal, documentation, logo, and all of the other trappings of your API should fit the needs of the developers you associate with most often. Developers creating mobile music apps may expect a completely different user experience than the developers who are creating SaaS products for the financial market. Your external customers are using your building blocks to create individual and unique products with their own roadmaps and schedules. Having a solid understanding of your customers’ expectations and preferences – one that plays to the “dress code” of your customers – can help your API become successful as well.Check Your ZipperThinking back on those old, internal APIs that you’re polishing up to put on display, remember that it will take some work to make sure they’re ready to greet the world. Pay close attention to what your APIs are exposing and what they’re covering up before they go out in public. Developers should be able to quickly understand your API without asking a long list of questions, so it is best to avoid shortcuts or custom codes that could lead to confusion.Have A PlanOnce out in public, your API should have a plan. It’s important to set performance goals and plans to dictate how your API is set up – how much load it can sustain, the rate limits you impose, whether or not you use caching, and so on. As you set performance goals, you should also consider the “Why” behind your API. If the goal, for instance, is to enable fast and easy online purchasing, then speed and accuracy will be key measurements to track. Again, the goals and expectations are key and, in most cases, adaptability is the often the best path forward.As you consider how to answer the all-important “Why,” you should make your sandbox plans. The best way to keep your API performing well in production is to put development activities – yours AND third-party developers – in an isolated environment where they can hit virtual instances of your API without impacting production. You probably already do this for your internal APIs. Now take that same principle and apply it to external APIs.Taking the time to make plans and think through the trajectory for your API is the key to running it effectively.Find Your AudienceTaking your APIs into the public space requires the same cross-functional, long-term attention as any product. For instance, an effective marketing plan is necessary to get the word out to the right developers. While some may think they can rely on organic “Developer Evangelism,” or “Devangelism,” to promote widespread awareness about high-quality APIs, reaching those influencers and creating positive industry buzz requires real marketing dollars and planning.Once you’ve reached out to developers, it takes more than traditional marketing to maintain their interest. It takes community support – through forums, meetups, hackathons and other channels – to have a successful API. Assigning a Product Owner to oversee the API and manage ongoing challenges and opportunities can help ensure that you are gaining real business value and know where to take the API in the future.At Capital One, we’re focused on helping developers get access to great products and learn things to help them get better at their craft. If you’re out at NY Tech Day, swing by the Capital One booth to learn more about our developer portal, Capital One DevExchange, and check out a demo of one of three initial APIs we launched along with the platform.