With each passing day, we can see more and more developer tools released to help and guide the ever-growing numbers of Web Developers. Having plenty of tools to choose from is excellent. It means people have multiple choices when it comes to tools they use in their jobs.
However, there is a slight issue with this, and that is too much variety. If you have too many options, it will be harder to decide what you will use and what to ignore.
There are plenty of useful #APIs out there that will make your #work a whole lot easier. In this article, we have listed the #best ones for you.
In short, APIs or Application Program Interfaces are tools designed to save time, solve problems, connect and modify services. That is the case with APIs nowadays. With more than 14,000 public services, it can be hard to make an informed decision on which one you will end up using.
This article has gathered some of the most popular and helpful APIs based on user numbers, reviews, and other criteria. Why waste hours or even days looking for tools when you can read a short article and save time that way. Sure, it might be interesting to research, compare and test different APIs, but, essentially, that is a waste of time.
After all, time is money, right? So, let’s save valuable time and check out the list.
Google Maps
Let us start our list with one of the most popular and helpful APIs out there. We are, of course, talking about Google Maps. You had to hear about this one at least a few times.
The geolocation service is the primary way people display their business location, be it a restaurant, a coffee shop, or something else. If it has an address, you will be able to find it. Millions of websites and apps use this service. Also, it is one of the primary reasons for the API boom.
One of the most common things people do with this API is displaying their location on the map for their visitors. You can also add paths for multiple locations.
Also, this service is well known as tremendous but naturally simple to use. More advanced options include creating interactions between the website and the map. For example, showcasing the search result on the actual map.
Mailchimp
Not all employees will have excellent technical knowledge when you have a growing business, especially ones connected to the internet. Furthermore, this can especially be true for those who work in communications and marketing. Instead of wasting precious hours reviewing your email lists manually, you could use an API to solve these issues.
Also, one of the best and most popular mail APIs is, of course, Mailchimp. There are millions of satisfied users, and it is packed with features. It is one of the best email management APIs out there. With it, you can create and clean mailing lists, receive notifications when someone unsubscribes.
And there are plenty of other valuable features that you will fall in love with, we guarantee you.
FullContact
In the modern-day and age, data is everything. That is one of the reasons most social networks are free of charge. You get a chance to connect with the rest of the world, freely share images and posts.
But, in exchange, you hand over slices of information about yourself. Those can be very useful, especially to marketing agencies and advertisers, when making and targeting ads.
What does that have to do with FullContact, you might ask? Well, FullContact API can provide information about users based on their email addresses. Isn’t that cool? With someone’s email address, you can find out their name, age, location, gender, and other relevant pieces of information.
For some users, you won’t be able to dig up a lot of data. But, in general, it will be enough to make informed decisions. FullContact is particularly useful in the sales and advertising departments.
Twilio
Twilio API is all about connectivity. Also, we have to mention one thing right away. It is a potent tool for businesses and companies that are looking for communication integration. In particular, it allows you to integrate voice calls, SMS, or even AI bots into your website for additional functionality.
Imagine the following scenario. You have a business website for your clients to schedule their appointments. You can easily integrate Twilio API into a previously mentioned website, and you ask the client for their mobile phone number. Afterward, they will receive automatic appointment reminders in the form of a text message. Pretty neat.
Slack
With the recent developments on the global level and the ever-increasing connectivity in all job categories. It is easily noticeable that collaborating has become an essential aspect of even mundane jobs. Now, thanks to some fantastic tools, collaborating has never been easier.
Slack is probably one of the most popular options for company-level collaboration, chat, and file-sharing out there.
However, besides integrating things like GitHub and Travis, Slack also comes with its API. You can use it in your applications. With it, you can check for real-time events and post messages, personally or with bots. Besides communicating, you can also incorporate workflow elements into Stack.
That way, everyone can track progress and know how far the project has come.
Conclusion
As you can see from the list above, APIs come in all forms and functionalities. Whether you want to boost communication in your organization or business, collect or provide data to your users, there is an API for that.
Integrating some APIs might be a tidbit challenging. But, it will be worth it in the long run.
Save time and resources, and gain additional knowledge using some of the best APIs for web developers listed above.
