What is the BigCommerce API

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So, what is the BigCommerce API? You keep hearing this word “API” like it’s some magical thing, but what is it? In this video, I’m going to explain what it is.
Before we get started, my name is Kal. I’m a developer, a store owner, and I run the Ecommerce Growth private community for store owners just like you and me. It’s a free community, and I’ll have a link below. Every week, I post more ecommerce videos, so if you find this one interesting, subscribe and hit the bell, and you can hear more from me in the future.
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Alright, so what is this API thing we keep hearing about, right? It’s like magic—just “API it,” right? But what is it?
API Defined
API stands for Application Programming Interface. Essentially, it’s an agreement between two databases about what they will allow in or out of their database.
For example, as a developer, I can write a program (which is often referred to as writing an API, though technically, that’s not correct). What you’re actually doing is writing a script that connects to an API.
So, I can write a script that sends a query, or question, to BigCommerce’s API. The question might be, “What are the product IDs of all the products in this store?”
BigCommerce’s API documentation says that if you want this type of information, you need to ask in a specific way. I format my question accordingly, and BigCommerce responds with the product IDs.
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Once I have those product IDs, I can ask for more information, like the name or price of a product.
So, in essence, an API is an agreed-upon set of “endpoints” that outline how to communicate with a database and what type of data will be returned.
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The API documentation specifies what data can be communicated in and out of the database. Then, I write my script that interacts with the API, whether it’s fetching information, pushing new information, or both. The API acts as the bridge that allows these transactions.

Usage Example: Apps
An app is an external script or database that connects to yours through the API.
Anything outside of BigCommerce needs to communicate via the API.
API Limits
Most systems with APIs have limits on how many requests can be sent in a given time frame. This prevents servers from being overwhelmed by excessive requests. BigCommerce has its own limits on API calls, which differ depending on your plan.

(03:32) BigCommerce API Rate Limits:
Trial/Standard/Plus Plans:
20,000 API calls per hour, or about 5.5 requests per second.
Pro Plans:
60,000 API calls per hour, or about 16 requests per second.
Enterprise Plans:
Unlimited API calls per second, though in practice, if you send too many requests (like a million), they will likely throttle the response speed to avoid overloading the server.
For comparison, Shopify’s Plus plan allows just 4 requests per second, so BigCommerce offers more flexibility with API requests.

(06:46) Per-App Basis:
Each app making API requests is siloed, so one app’s request won’t interfere with another’s ability to use the API.
Hopefully, this clarifies a bit about what the BigCommerce API is. It’s an agreed-upon set of endpoints that allow communication between systems.

(07:31) Resources:
You can learn more by visiting BigCommerce’s developer portal:
BigCommerce Developer Documentation
It includes all the API docs and webhooks, which are related but slightly different.

(08:04) Conclusion:
BigCommerce’s API is incredibly fast, though there are limits at the lower levels.
If you found this video helpful, give it a like and join our community at join ecommerce growth.com. If you’re looking for a developer to help with your API calls, reach out to us at Epic Design Labs, and we’ll see if we’re a good fit. Leave me a comment, let me know what you’re struggling with, and maybe I can help in a future video.
Thank you so much for joining me, and I’ll see you next time.