API Design for Frontend Developers

REST Conventions - GET for reading, POST for creating, PUT/PATCH for updating, DELETE for removing - Use plural nouns for resources: /users, /posts, /comments - Nest related resources: /users/:id/posts

Request/Response Patterns - Always handle loading, success, and error states - Use pagination for large collections - Include total count in paginated responses - Return created/updated resource in response body

Error Handling - Check response.ok before parsing JSON - Handle network errors separately from API errors - Display user-friendly error messages - Retry transient failures with exponential backoff