Top 10 REST API Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

REST APIs help different applications communicate with each other. Web, mobile, and cloud applications use them to exchange data smoothly. However, many developers make mistakes while building APIs, leading to slow performance, security issues, and difficult maintenance. Fixing these problems early makes APIs faster, safer, and easier to use.

In this article, we will go through the top 10 common mistakes in REST API development and how to avoid them. These mistakes include using incorrect HTTP status codes, not securing the API properly, returning too much data, and ignoring proper error handling. These issues can cause API failures, security risks, and bad user experiences if not fixed.

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You can create well-structured, efficient, and secure REST APIs by understanding these mistakes and following best practices. Let’s go step by step and learn how to improve your API design and make it work smoothly. 🚀

1️⃣ Ignoring Proper HTTP Status Codes

❌ Mistake: Returning 200 for Everything

Some developers return 200 OK for every response, even when an error occurs. This makes it hard to debug issues on the client side.

{
    "status": "error",
    "message": "User not found"
}

✅ Solution: Use Correct HTTP…