In plain English
It's a waiter. You don't walk into the kitchen; you tell the waiter what you want, the kitchen prepares it, and the waiter brings it back. The API carries requests between your website and another system the same way.
Used in a sentence
“The website reads your products and stock from Square's API, so prices on the site always match the register.”
“Our booking system had an API, so we could connect it to the CRM instead of copying details by hand.”
In detail
Most modern software offers an API: payment processors, point-of-sale systems, booking tools, CRMs, email platforms. A developer uses it to connect your website or app to that service, reading data (like products or appointments) and writing it back (like orders or new contacts) automatically and securely.
APIs are what make integrations possible. Instead of retyping information between systems, they stay in sync. Each API has limits and rules set by the company behind it, which is why connecting two systems is real development work, not just a setting.
Why it matters for your business
APIs let your website and tools share information automatically, so nobody has to copy it by hand.
- Systems stay in sync
- Less copying between tools
- Makes custom features possible
Easy to mix up
An API isn't an app or a plugin. It's the doorway a developer uses to connect things; you don't use it directly, you use what's built on it.
Related terms
Web app, SaaS and CRM. Or browse the whole glossary.
