API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Whenever you use an app like Facebook, send an instant message, or check the weather on your phone, you’re using an API.
The API serves as a middleman between your data center and ours, being that its purpose is to exchange information and data between different platforms, allowing two applications to talk to each other, in a flexible and fast way, through a secure authentication process to make sure only authorized parties can use and make the most out of our platform.
What are the benefits of the API integration?
Moving to an API integration allows your business to have unparalleled speed and flexibility when communicating with other services/platforms on the internet, whether it’s a simple widget on your website or a data communication system. Despite being versatile, it is also secure as anyone who wants to be able to use our API, must be duly authorized, in order to protect and surveil our service.
Which steps should I follow to create API integration with Harland & Poston Group websites?
a. Get in touch with us to talk about our partnership and your business needs
b. Sign a partnership agreement
c. We create an account in our API portal for you and provide your unique API key
d. Start integration with the help of your developer / with the help of our developer agency
e. Preview your properties after the successful integration
f. If everything is fine, confirm us to start publishing your properties on our websites
Do I need to have a developer team in my company?
It is not mandatory to have a developer team in your company, despite being easier having someone to set up the process for you, we have all necessary instructions here and we are also available to complete this process for you, according to your requirements.
Do I need to pay any fees?
The API integration comes at no extra costs.
How do you secure your API?
Our API is completely secured by API keys. We authenticate our partners with the API key; as a result, our server knows to allow accessing the data only with verified servers.
An API key is an access token - a strong combination of numbers and letters that allows the platform to identify our partners and authorize them to exchange data with us, which is an important and vital security asset.
After successfully completing the legal partnership process, we will be providing your unique API key to you.
In what format can I send my API?
You can send your API in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) or XML (Extensible Markup Language) format although it is highly recommended to be sent in JSON due to lower bandwidth consumption.
Do I need to have a signed term to share API information?
Yes. We sign official partnership agreements with all our partners and we create API integration once we complete the legal process.
How long is the API valid?
The API integration is valid as long as our partnership continues.
What’s the difference between JSON and XML?
JSON is a lightweight format for storing and transporting data as it consumes very less memory space, which is especially suitable for large databases. Whereas, XML is a format designed for much more than just data interchanging, making it a heavier format as it has less bytes in transit.
Why is an API better than any other feed?
As a result of JSON being much lighter than other feed formats and is designed specifically for data interchange, the interchanges in this format are lighter in bytes which allow a request of data to be made much faster than feeds that are more complex (such as XML).
What are the costs of moving from XML to API?
There are no costs in moving from XML feeds to API, you’re switching one older technology by a new and faster one without there being costs involved to it.
Will the API integration allow us to split rentals and sales on properties?
The API sends your raw data to our server without changing anything. As long as you have correct tags on your properties to specify the rentals and sales, the API will be able to identify different types of properties.
