Bluepark REST API Released 11 December 2013  |  Rich

We are very proud to announce that the Bluepark REST API has now been released publically. This has been a very significant development project of a feature which has taken almost a year to produce.

For anyone who doesn't know what the API is for, it's basically a way for Bluepark sites to talk to other software or systems. This feature takes Bluepark into a completely new league and opens up almost endless possibilities for integration with other software. Examples include order management software, accounting software, order fulfilment companies and EPOS systems - to name just a few. Bluepark's ecommerce software can now integrate with virtually any application.

We would encourage any ecommerce companies, potentially wanting to extend their services to Bluepark customers, to view our API specification and testing page, detailing all of the available resources and methods accessible via the API.

To demonstrate the power of the API, we have also released the first stage of our own multi-channel feature, enabling Bluepark customers with multiple sites to manage orders via one central Bluepark Admin Panel, along with comprehensive and real time stock control across all associated sites. This feature provides the foundation for the eagerly anticipated eBay integration, which was released in 2014.

API Calls & Bluepark Packages

Each Bluepark package comes with a generous API call limit. Understanding these limits will ensure that you choose the right package for your business, and we have outlined how they work below.

API calls are only relevant if you use a third party system, connected to your Bluepark online shop, to update products, orders and customers. Third party systems can include supported integrations such as Linnworks, Khaos Cloud, StoreFeeder and Royal Mail Click & Drop. They also include any third party systems you have requested to be integrated into your site by a developer.

Only calls into your Bluepark site from these third-parties are counted towards your API call limit. Outbound calls from Bluepark are excluded.

If you use any third party integrations with your Bluepark site, it's important to understand what API calls are, to ensure you are using them correctly.

An API call simply enables one system to communicate with another automatically, either to request data or to send it. An example of this would be an order placed on eBay, then the details of this order being pushed to your Bluepark Admin Panel via the API. This would be counted as one API call.

Many people have the misconception that you can only ever push one order or product via an API call, and they worry that the limits placed on our packages are not going to be substantial enough. However, this is not the case. For example, if you created 100 new products within your Bluepark Admin Panel and wanted to sell them on eBay too, then you could push them together, in bulk, to eBay using only one API call.

If you have any questions about our API and our third party integrations, please leave a comment below.