Beyond the Theme - Using WordPress as an API

Beyond the Theme
Using WordPress as an API

About Me
Find me on online at:
@davidscottufts
facebook.com/davidscottufts
linkedin.com/in/davidtufts
davidscotttufts.com
I’m not a WordPress guru, ninja, black-belt, author, blogger, consultant, or hacker
I do use WordPress everywhere

One Year of WordPress at Work
Migrated 14 unique brand sites and over 40 unique domains in 7 languages to WordPress multi-site
Our most popular brand’s average page views increased from 85,000 to 150,000 (over 130,000 daily emails, over 45,000 iPhone/iPad apps, and over 65,000 Facebook fans)
Our online donations increased by 38%
Reduced server footprint by 40% and our overhead costs decreased by 30%
Development time, costs, and learning curve for new developers were also all significantly reduced

Goals of a WordPress Based Web Strategy
Have one install for multiple sites
Allow for a single sign-on across a network of sites
Use an API to allow for content to be easily accessible by other websites and mobile devices
Integrate web, social, mobile, social bookmarking, and monetization strategies
Aggregate and curate content from across the network of sites in one central stream
Think globally—location and language matter

Why WordPress
It met the conditions of our web strategy
It has multi-site capabilities
It is open source (FREE)
It is easy to migrate to
It is easy to use
It is easy to install and upgrade
It is popular (15% of the web runs on WordPress)
It is versatile

Versatile you say?
Extend it with themes and plugins
Modify it with hooks
Create custom post types
Add custom fields
Use custom taxonomies
Specify post formats

An Analogy—Part 1
The WordPress admin area is like a kitchen and you are the chef
The WordPress plugins are like the kitchen appliances that make for a better cooking experience
The WordPress theme is like the dining room where the content is laid out for consumption
There is a one-to-one relationship between your content and its container, the theme

Content vs. Container
A WordPress theme exists only within the context of its container—the web browser
Your content is consumed from within your website’s theme
Your RSS feed is the only way in which your content can be consumed from outside your website’s theme

How Do People Find Your Site
Search engines index your content
Searches point people to your site
Users subscribe to your RSS feed
Friends might link to your site
Anyone can share your content on social networks

Your Websites Current Sphere of Influence

Introduction to APIs
“An API (Application Programming Interface) is a way for two applications to talk to each other in a common language that both systems understand. An API essentially provides a structured way for applications to get content in a predictable, flexible, and powerful way.”

Does WordPress have an API?
WordPress has XML-RPC for data management at the admin level
WordPress has multiple built-in APIs that allow developers to enhance WordPress through plugins and themes
WordPress has a robust query string that enables content filtering through the URL
WordPress has no end user API that allows for third-party development around your content

What Can an API do for You?
Allows you to have a single instance of your content and users distributed across multiple channels
Allows developers to build third-party applications around your web-based content or service
Allows you to enhance the user experience within the context of your site by building an AJAX rich application

Separating Content from Container
WordPress separates the admin and plugins from the theme
It allows for the content to exist independently of the website’s theme
Modifying a site’s theme does not impact your content

An Analogy—Part 2
Same kitchen, chef, appliances, and dining room as the earlier analogy
An API turns your kitchen into a catering business with delivery trucks
There is a one-to-many relationship between your content and multiple containers: mobile apps, third-party websites, and social networks

Adding an API to WordPress Expands Your Sphere of Influence

3 Simple Steps to Implementing an API into Your Next WordPress Theme
Pass additional query string parameters to the theme
Modify the theme to process API calls
Determine what format to return the content in

Step 1: Pass Additional Query String Parameters to the Theme
Define a query string parameter to specify whether or not the request being made is an API call. Always default the parameter to false in the theme as to not disrupt non API requests (?api=true)
Define a query string parameter to specify in what format to return the content (&format=json)

Step 2: Modify the Theme to Process API Calls
<?php
$api = $_GET[‘api’];
$f = $_GET[‘format’];
Section off the header and footer with conditional statements within files like index.php, single.php, archive.php, category.php, tag.php, and search.php
Evaluate based on the query string parameters if an API call needs the header and footer
If ( $api ) {
// Conditional Header
}
// The Loop
get_template_part(‘loop’, $f);
If ( $api ) {
// Conditional Footer
}
?>

Step 3: Determine What Format to Return the Content In
Create a series of loops in different formats to handle your custom API requests: loop-html5.php, loop-json.php, loop-xml.php
Allow the get_template_part() function to determine the appropriate format to use:get_template_part(‘loop’, $_GET[‘format’]);

Example
You have built an events management WordPress theme using custom post types for events, sessions, speakers, attendees, and venues.
Now your conference attendees want to use their smart phones or tablets during an event to manage their schedules, rate sessions, etc.

Allowing for Third-Party Development
Every new “app” is just another instance of a group of your users interacting with your content or service
Twitter would not be were it is today without an API which allows users and developers to interact with Twitter’s services on their terms

Post Rank vs. Page Rank
The tide is changing from searchability to shareability
SEO is still be important, but what is more important is how accessible and shareable your content is from multiple devices, apps, and social networks

Other API Implementation Ideas
Use the API calls for AJAX reloading from within the context of the WordPress theme
Use in conjunction with other query string parameters to determine the post type, posts per page, sort order, etc.
Be sure to output the correct headers to the browser in the cases where the requested formats are like JSON, XML, or downloadable files

Write It Yourself or Use KickPress
The KickPressplugingives WordPress a public API for content distribution across multiple platforms and devices
Makes creating and using custom posts types and taxonomies easy
Focuses heavily on the publishing of a wide variety of content types (videos, books, events, reviews, authors, contacts, etc.)
Enables strong social media integration through a urlshortner, social sharing links, and a social sharing toolbar
Enables content aggregation from across the web into a local news feed
Enables content bookmarking by logged-in users
Extends WordPress through hooks, themes, and plugins, without the need to modify the core source code and/or database tables

WP + API = { }
Beta release coming soon: http://kickpress.org/getting-started/

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Beyond the Theme - Using WordPress as an API

by David Tufts

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