Third Party API Integration with Different Methods

GET request example  

$response = wp_remote_get( 'https://api.demo.com/data', [
    'timeout' => 15,
    'headers' => [
        'Authorization' => 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Accept'        => 'application/json',
    ],
] );
 
if ( is_wp_error( $response ) ) {
    error_log( $response->get_error_message() );
    return;
}
 
$body = wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response );
$data = json_decode( $body, true );

POST request example

$response = wp_remote_post( 'https://api.demo.com/submit', [
    'timeout' => 15,
    'headers' => [
        'Content-Type'  => 'application/json',
        'Authorization' => 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    ],
    'body' => json_encode([
        'name'  => 'John Doe',
        'email' => 'john@example.com',
    ]),
] );
 
$status = wp_remote_retrieve_response_code( $response );
$body   = json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ), true );

Tip: Store API keys in wp-config.php using define() — never hardcode them in theme or plugin files.

$ch1 = curl_init('https://api.aidemo.com/data');//yourapi url comes here
curl_setopt_array($ch1, [
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT        => 20,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER     => [
        'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Accept: application/json',
    ],
]);

$response_data    = curl_exec($ch1);
$http_code_st   = curl_getinfo($ch1, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
$curl_error  = curl_error($ch1);
curl_close($ch1);

if ($curl_error) {
    error_log('Request failed: ' . $curl_error);
    return null;
}

if ($http_code !== 200) {
    error_log('Unexpected status code: ' . $http_code_st);
    return null;
}

$result_data = json_decode($response_data, true);

Warning: Inside WordPress always prefer wp_remote_get() over cURL. cURL bypasses WordPress filters and error handling hooks.

add_action( 'rest_api_init', function () {
    register_rest_route( 'aidemoplugin/v1', '/weather', [
        'methods'             => 'GET',
        'callback'            => 'aidemoplugin_get_weather',
        'permission_callback' => '__return_true',
    ] );
} );
 
function aidemoplugin_get_weather( WP_REST_Request $request ) {
    $city = sanitize_text_field( $request->get_param( 'city' ) );
 
    $response = wp_remote_get(
        'https://api.openweathermap.org/data/3.5/weather'
        . '?q=' . urlencode( $city )
        . '&appid=' . WEATHER_API_KEY
    );
 
    if ( is_wp_error( $response ) ) {
        return new WP_Error( 'api_error', 'Could not fetch it,
            [ 'status' => 500 ] );
    }
 
    return json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ), true );
}

Need help building a custom REST-based integration? Visit our custom web development services page.

Tip: Plugin integrations work best when speed is a higher priority than customisation. Custom code provides full control for unique business logic.

PHP — Register the AJAX action  

add_action( ‘wp_ajax_nopriv_get_rates’, ‘myplugin_get_rates’ );
add_action( 'wp_ajax_get_rates', 'myplugin_get_rates' );
 
function myplugin_get_rates() {
    check_ajax_referer( 'myplugin_nonce', 'nonce' );
    $data = /* call third party API here */;
    wp_send_json_success( $data );
}

The above code snippet is with reference to using WP Ajax with WordPress Plugins to call a third-party API.

JavaScript — Call from the browser  

fetch( ajaxurl, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' },
    body: new URLSearchParams({
        action: 'get_rates',
        nonce:  myPlugin.nonce,
    }),
})
.then( r => r.json() )
.then( data => console.log( data.data ) );

follows on from r to convert json

Then Using DATA only to Log response

 1. Store API Keys Safely   

Store API keys in wp-config.php as a constant and never include them in source control files.

// In wp-config.php
define( 'MY_LEADAPI_KEY', 'your-secret-key-here' );
 
// In your plugin/theme
$key = MY_LEADAPI_KEY;

2. Cache API responses with transients  

PI requests will slow your site down, which you can prevent by caching results using the transient API to cache the API data.

$cached = get_transient( 'myplugin_api_data' );
 
if ( false === $cached ) {
    $response = wp_remote_get( 'https://api.aidemo.com/data' );
    $cached   = json_decode(
        wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ), true
    );
    set_transient( 'myplugin_api_data', $cached, HOUR_IN_SECONDS );
}
 
return $cached;

 

Tip: Using transients for caching is one of the most significant optimizations you can make when integrating third-party APIs with your WordPress website.

3. Sanitise and validate all data  

1. Sanitize data before putting it into API URL or body request
2. Check for HTTP status codes before processing responses
3. Use is_wp_error() function to handle failures and error_log() to log errors
4. Always assume that data from other parties might be malicious or invalid

4. Handle errors gracefully  

$response = wp_remote_get( 'https://api.aidemo.com/data' );
 
// Check for WordPress-level errors
if ( is_wp_error( $response ) ) {
    error_log( $response->get_error_message() );
    return false;
}
 
// Check HTTP status code
$code = wp_remote_retrieve_response_code( $response );
if ( 200 !== $code ) {
    error_log( 'API returned status: ' . $code );
    return false;
}
$data = json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $response ), true );

Tip: Start simple by using wp_remote_get(), follow it up with set_transient() to cache your API’s response, and finally create a custom REST API proxy when your users need access to your API resource – this process will solve 90% of all real-world API integration problems.

Further reading: How to Connect Third-Party APIs in WordPress | FastAPI Authentication Security with Token