Structuring REST APIs for Clarity and Growth

A clear API contract is a long-term asset.

Resource Naming

Name resources as nouns, not verbs. /orders and /orders/:id are predictable and stable.

Validation and Errors

Validate input at the boundary. Return consistent error shapes with enough detail to act on.

Versioning

Version from the start. A /v1 prefix costs nothing early and saves migrations later.