Essential REST API best practices to design clean, efficient, and maintainable APIs:

1. Use Nouns (Not Verbs) in Endpoints

✅ Good

GET    /users
POST   /users
GET    /users/{id}
PUT    /users/{id}
DELETE /users/{id}

❌ Avoid

GET    /getUsers
POST   /createUser
GET    /getUserById

2. Use Plural Resource Names

/users  (not /user)
/products  (not /product)

3. Use Proper HTTP Methods

Method Usage
GET Retrieve resources
POST Create resources
PUT Full update
PATCH Partial update
DELETE Remove resources

4. Use HTTP Status Codes Correctly

Code Meaning
200 OK (Success)
201 Created
204 No Content (Success but no body)
400 Bad Request (Client error)
401 Unauthorized
403 Forbidden
404 Not Found
429 Too Many Requests
500 Server Error

5. Version Your API

/api/v1/users
/api/v2/users