How to Choose the Best API for Video Creation

Any developer or entrepreneur may come to a place where they need to make some critical decisions. Moving forward, these decisions can shape their product or business. One of these important decisions is choosing the right API for video creation. The API you decide to use can have a major impact in the long run because the videos you create will be used as part of your marketing campaign. Obviously, this is no small task, given the value of video in today’s market. Therefore, you have to ensure you are making the best choice when selecting an API for video creation.

Put simply, API, which is an Application Programming Interface, is not very different from a standardized language. It empowers computer programs to communicate with each other in reliable and fast ways. Listed below are some of the top factors you can consider when you are looking for the best API for video creation:

Are the features suitable for your needs?

The same basic features can be found in most APIs. However, each of these do come up with a unique ‘twist’. Figuring out which one is best for you will depend on how much a certain API is able to meet your aims and goals. There are some APIs that may provide features that you regard as extraneous, but that feature might be considered essential by other organizations. In addition, your perspective regarding these features may also change with time. Thus, you need to consider the features that are critical and list the features that are a plus, but not necessary. This will help you in shortlisting the APIs available.

Is there detailed documentation?

Using a new video creation API is not very different from learning a new language. If you don’t have access to formal resources, picking up the skill can be difficult. Yes, you can probably muddle your way through by doing some experiments, but the quickest way to learn is to hit the books. In the case of API, this means that you should seek detailed documentation given by the provider. This documentation will explain the concept of calls, along with usage. A sandboxed testing environment is also provided for testing out commands without worrying about messing up.

What data formats are used by the API?

Previously, the commonly used formats for APIs were XML formats. Nowadays, the king of the hill is JSON. This format is simpler to read, lighter on resources and also easier to write. In simple terms, JSON is a much better alternative as a whole. Likewise, some APIs are known to return data in other formats, such as URL encoded strings. Never choose a platform without checking out its format. You should ensure that the format will integrate into your system properly and that your developers are happy. Otherwise, it is better to consider other options.

Are the naming conversations sensible?

A different naming conversation will be used by each API for describing and interacting with various parts of the system. Before you invest in an API, check out the parameter and the method name it utilizes. Does it make sense? Does it match your coding style? This makes the process of writing code easier and simpler.

Are there limit on requests?

DDoS attacks are a common concern with the APIs as the flood of requests can cause the servers to overload and slow everything for other users. This could be due to bad code or may be intentional. A threshold system is used by many APIs to prevent this, which means the number of requests per IP address of API key are limited.

Consider these factors and you will be able to select the best API for video creation.