{"id":37601,"date":"2022-10-20T14:06:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T21:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=37601"},"modified":"2025-05-21T16:44:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T23:44:52","slug":"tutorial-wp-rest-api","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/tutorial-wp-rest-api\/","title":{"rendered":"An Introduction to the WordPress REST API"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the REST API was finally added to WordPress core<\/a>, it was the end of a long journey. Many had anticipated this change as the biggest step forward for WordPress in the platform\u2019s history. However, if you\u2019re not familiar with the REST API, you may be confused by what it all means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the addition of the WordPress REST API<\/a> turned WordPress into a fully-featured application framework. This significantly increased its \u2018extensibility,\u2019 or its ability to be extended with new features and capabilities. Plus, it expanded the platform\u2019s potential for communicating with other sites and applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Introduction to REST APIs<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we dig deeper into the WordPress REST API, it\u2019s important to get our terminology straight. This is a subject where we\u2019ll need to use a lot of acronyms, so let\u2019s clear those up first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, you\u2019ll need to know what Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)<\/a> are. In the simplest terms, an API is a means by which one system enables other systems to connect to its data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when a website adds a Facebook \u2018like\u2019 button to a page, it does this by hooking into Facebook\u2019s API. This lets the web page use the API to receive data (the code for the like button) and send data (the like request).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what is a REST API specifically? Representational State Transfer (REST)<\/a> is a type of API specific to web services. It contains a standardized set of instructions and rules, making it easier for all \u2018RESTful\u2019 services to connect with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, REST APIs enable you to make requests to an external system. One example of this is Twitter. You can use its API to request a certain number of tweets from a specific user. The API will then return the tweets based on your request, which you can embed on your site using HTML<\/a> and CSS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These requests are carried out using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)<\/a>. This is a language specifically designed for sending, receiving, and storing data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re going to cover JSON later in this article, but we recommend taking the time to familiarize yourself with this language upfront. This will help prime you for using the WordPress REST API and understanding some of the concepts we\u2019ll be talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the WordPress REST API Is (And Why It\u2019s Important)<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"WordPress<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The WordPress REST API<\/a> functions in largely the same way as the examples we\u2019ve touched on already. Basically, the WordPress REST API gives you full access to WordPress features from any JSON-compatible framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly to how Twitter\u2019s API enables you to retrieve and send tweets, the WordPress REST API can be used to manage posts, users, categories, and much more from external platforms. It lets you use WordPress in a number of previously unprecedented ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The REST API was announced<\/a> all the way back in 2013. It started life as a plugin<\/a>, meant to be incorporated into the WordPress core by Version 4.1. As so often happens, delays pushed the release back until it was finally implemented into the core with the release of WordPress 4.7<\/a> three years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a long but worthwhile wait for many people who saw the WordPress REST API as an important step forward for the platform. You might be wondering why this addition was such a big deal, especially since a lot of users probably didn\u2019t notice much difference. As it turns out, the inclusion of the REST API was a fundamental change to WordPress for many reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By implementing a REST API, WordPress took a step away from simply being a platform for creating websites. Instead, it\u2019s now become a full-fledged application framework. This means developers can use a WordPress site to create applications for mobile devices and the web or as an information repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shift also enabled WordPress to take a step away from its reliance on PHP<\/a>. By making WordPress compatible with any JSON-compatible language, the REST API greatly expanded the possibilities for developers, enabling them to use WordPress functionality with practically any framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the REST API provides increased flexibility with the interfaces you can use to work with the platform. It made the admin interface completely optional since you can now interact with your WordPress site entirely through JSON commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s look at how JSON and the REST API come together to make this possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the REST API and JSON Work Together<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By now, you should have a handle on the theoretical aspects of the WordPress REST API. So, let\u2019s look at the more practical side of the technology. The official handbook<\/a> describes using the REST API as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe WordPress REST API provides API endpoints for WordPress data types that allow developers to interact with sites remotely, by sending and receiving JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) objects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first word we need to focus on here is \u201cendpoints\u201d. The easiest way to think of an endpoint is as a piece of data or a function that can be called using a JSON request<\/a>. By default, WordPress provides a huge number of standard endpoints<\/a> to use, but developers can also create custom endpoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To reach an endpoint, you must use a \u2018route,\u2019<\/a> which takes the form of a normal URL. You can even try this yourself right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go to your own WordPress site, and add \/wp-json\/wp\/v2<\/i> to the end of its URL. If your site is http:\/\/example.com<\/i>, you would enter http:\/\/example.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you load this route, you will reach the endpoint, which in this case, returns all content and meta-data for your site in a (messy) JSON format. By using different routes, you can access different endpoints to get specific types of information and perform various tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three primary JSON requests<\/a> you will use with the REST API, so let\u2019s also take a quick look at them now. They are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n