The Full Guide to Basics of the Webflow API

Are you trying to find strategies to manage your Webflow website more effectively? Or do you want to link your front end (hosted by Webflow) with an external platform API?

‍Webflow is one of the most popular CMS platforms. Webflow external API enables users to programmatically add, alter, and delete things from the Webflow CMS. This allows you to source your Webflow sites.

You can use the official JavaScript API client or any other third-party integrations for your preferred language or direct HTTP access to the API. Keep reading to know more about Webflow developer API, including webflow-API npm, etc.

Let’s begin!

What Type of CMS Is Webflow?

A CMS (content management system) is a software application that provides a platform to create, store, edit and publish dynamic content on a website. A CMS enables you to create a website without technical skills or knowledge. 

Webflow's CMS API is very popular as it allows users to develop organized content, modify it, and update it without specialized technical knowledge. This 'structured dynamic' begins by creating a Collection with items, authors, webflow blog posts, projects, etc.

What Is an API?

An API for "Application Programming Interface" is a set of protocols allowing you to connect and integrate software and applications easily. An API will, therefore, allow your tools to exchange a certain amount of data with each other and, thus, automate certain tasks. These protocols simplify and facilitate data exchange, particularly in an increasingly no-code world. 

APIs are a no-code or a low-code way to develop applications or websites much more easily and quickly. Since it is a way to connect tools easily, APIs will allow you to optimize each.

Does Webflow Have an API?

The Webflow API is an open book on the CMS of your website, allowing you to create, update, read or remove any of the items from a different location. The Webflow API documentation contains data about your website, collection, and items. This data is divided into three main types:

Website data

Basic information about the makeup of your website, including creator, publication, and domain.

The collection data

The general data of the items in the collection, the Collection ID, the number of collections, and the slug. 

Information about the items

The creation, modification, and publication of the items. Additionally, the slug and item ID are also kept. 

In other words, Webflow API allows users to connect external data to their Webflow websites. 

Using Webflow API, you can:

• Your Webflow CMS may import data from an existing database.
• To use Webflow content in other programs, export it.
• Link up with a current CMS.
• Use a mobile app to extract data from your Webflow CMS.
• User events trigger webflow activities.

How Do I Add an API Key to Webflow?

The API key is an effective way to optimize your Webflow website management. It authenticates, identifies your website, and gives you access to the Webflow API requests. Here’s how you can create a Webflow API integration token:

• Login to your webflow dashboard, find the project you want to create the API key for, and click on "Project settings."
• You'll find the Integration option in the upper menu. Click on it. 
• Scroll down the page to get to the section that allows you to access API.  
• There, you'll see the Generate API token button that enables users to create individual API tokens for their projects. 
• After generating the key, you'll find a token in a box with an option to Copy. 

You can also use npm to install Webflow-API NPM or use Yarn. 

Use HTTP Webflow Queries.

A "Hypertext Transfer Protocol" (HTTP) request is a communication method between web browsers and servers. The "HTTP protocol" is the backstage of the internet. A web server that hosts the data receives a request from a browser and sends it via the HTTP protocol. For instance, to access a website, you would send an HTTP request by clicking on its URL, and the website would then respond by showing the corresponding web page.

Utilize the Documentation for the Webflow API.

For web designers or other users who want to use its API, Webflow offers free Webflow API documentation and Webflow developer API. You can access all the information in this thorough documentation using the API data via HTTP queries.

This manual contains all the details you need for the HTTP requests to use per the tasks you want to complete and several templates you can use to personalize your requests.

The Webflow API enables you to optimize and automate your website fast and easily, whether for a showcase site, an online site using Webflow ecommerce API, or an ultra-connected web platform.

What Is a Webhook Webflow?

A webhook is an architectural strategy that sends an automated web-based message from one platform to another. The webhooks can't be sent manually but are triggered in response to a qualifying event. 

The event can be anything, such as:

• Publication of your website
• Submission of a form
• Creation, update, or removal of a CMS item
• If an event story is changed in your online shopping store, triggering webflow ecommerce API
• When you receive a new order or if the previous order is updated in your online commerce store. 

Let's take the example of Facebook.

When you take any action within the platform, an event is triggered. Rather than going through the long process of configuring a request to the Webflow API integration to post a message to another platform, Facebook automatically sends a message to a separate API triggered by any event. 

Key Takeaways

Webflow CMS API allows you to link external data sources to a website. You can automatically manage the items in the collections from the Webflow CMS. 

This type of API, however, cannot return collections or individual bits of data from Webflow CMS into an external API. If you’re looking for a Webflow expert for a more specialized solution, contact 128.digital to improve your digital output. Request a quote today!