For software providers in industries such as inventory management, warehouse management, mobile apps builder, order management, shipping management, etc., data like orders, products, shipments, customers, etc., is a basic framework of their core functions.
Integration with eCommerce platforms is what allows them to get and work with this valuable store information. It is also a fact that the more shopping platforms and marketplaces the software integrates with, the higher are the chances of becoming an industry leader in the market.
If you’re such an eCommerce software provider and thinking about which platform to integrate with, take a look at WooCommerce. It is a leading eCommerce platform that powers 40% of all online stores. More than 4 million websites run on WooCommerce, and their number continues to grow.
In this article, you’ll learn more about the WooCommerce API and an easy way to get the store information from this and other eCommerce platforms at once.
WooCommerce REST API
WooCommerce REST API allows applications to interact with this platform and work with data related to orders, coupons, products, customers, etc. WooCommerce has many API versions and keeps updating them for enhanced performance and security with every release. The latest version is 5.1.0, but there are also older versions that customers continue to use.
The WooCommerce REST API supports JSON format by default, but you can easily change it to XML format. It works with the four main HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT and DELETE. But there is one more — HEAD. It сan be used to return only the HTTP header information. Thanks to these methods you can work with information about products, orders, stock, customers and their addresses.
In order to make API calls and get data from WooCommerce, you must go through the process of authentication. This is how the system recognizes your identity and allows you to access the API resource. There are two options for authentication with the WooCommerce REST API — oAuth 1.1 for user websites that have no valid SSL certificates and basic HTTP for users who have secure checkout enabled on their websites. Although it depends on the availability of the SSL certificate which method you can choose, it is recommended to go with basic HTTPS authentication if possible as it is easier to use.
How to Develop Integration with WooCommerce?
To get data from WooCommerce via integration, there are two ways to choose from — manual (in-house) integration development and using third-party software for integration.
While the first seems a bit secure and reliable, it is a more complicated and expensive process.
- Integrations are costly — $4000 or more per integration. It adds to the salaries of advanced developers you hire, train, and employ on the integration project. Also, don’t forget to count the cost of infrastructure setup required for establishing integration.
- Further, integrations take time — more than or equal to 8 weeks per integration. Can you risk your business reputation just because of time constraints?
- What’s more? The added maintenance and need for updates that come with every WooCommerce API’s new release. The cycle repeats itself — you need to invest your time, money, and resources even for regular updates and maintenance of the integration.
Hence, a third-party integration solution can ease your integration process and offload unnecessary costs involved.
For example, API2Cart provides a unified API that allows B2B SaaS application providers to integrate their eCommerce software with more than 40 shopping carts and marketplaces including WooCommerce in one go. You just need to connect your eCommerce software with API2Cart, add your client’s stores and enjoy seamless integration with shopping platforms. See below which API2Cart API methods allow you to get data from WooCommerce API.
Easy Way for Getting Data from WooCommerce
To access data such as products, customers, orders, categories, basket details, etc., you will have to work with API2Cart’s special API methods. Following are some important methods involved in the process:
For products
- product.list — to get the list of all products from the online store. This method returns 10 products by default
- product.attribute.list — to retrieve the list of product attributes from the store
- product.review.list — to retrieve a list of all the reviews for a specific product
- product.child_item.list — to get information about the child items of a product
- product.variant.list — to retrieve the list of all the variants a specific product has on the online store
- product.currency.list — to retrieve all the product currencies from the online store
For orders
- order.list — to retrieve data such as a list of all orders from an online store. By default, it returns four orders
- order.status.list — to retrieve the status of all the orders from the cart
- order.abandoned.list — to get a list of abandoned orders from a store
- order.shipment.list — to get a list of all the shipments associated with the order
For customers
- customer.list — to retrieve a list of all the customers of an online store
For categories
- category.list — to get a list of all the categories from an online store. By default, it returns four categories
For basket
- basket.live_shipping_service.list — to get a list of all the live shipping rate services
If you would like to find out more information on how API2Cart works, schedule a сonsultation with our expert or try the service for 30-days for free by registering your free account right now.
