Getting Started

Welcome to API Press! This plugin helps you connect your WordPress site with external APIs to fetch, send, and import data. Whether you want to display live data on your site, send information to external services, or bulk-import content, API Press makes it straightforward.

What is API Press?

API Press is a WordPress plugin that bridges the gap between your site and external APIs. It eliminates the need for custom coding by providing a user-friendly interface to:

  • Fetch data from external APIs and display it on your website
  • Send WordPress events (user actions, post updates, etc.) to external services
  • Import data from external sources and automatically create WordPress posts

No coding knowledge required. Configure APIs through the WordPress admin, and let API Press handle the rest.

Three Main Workflows

API Press works around three primary workflows. Choose the one that fits your needs:

1. Displaying API Data

Goal: Show live data from external APIs on your website

Use Cases:

  • Display product listings from another system
  • Show real-time prices or availability
  • Embed data from external services (weather, news, events)
  • Create custom feeds of external content

How it works: You configure an API endpoint, choose how to display the data (list, cards, table, etc.), and insert it on your page using a shortcode, block, or template tag. The data updates dynamically whenever someone views the page.

Key Features: Multiple display templates, field mapping, data transforms (formatting, truncating, etc.), caching options

2. Sending API Data

Goal: Automatically send information to external services when events occur

Use Cases:

  • Sync new user registrations to your CRM
  • Send post updates to Slack or email services
  • Trigger Zapier workflows when events happen
  • Log data to external analytics platforms
  • Notify external systems when WooCommerce orders are created

How it works: You set up triggers that define when to send data (e.g., when a user registers or a post is published). When the trigger fires, API Press sends the relevant data to your configured API endpoint. You can use variables to customize what data is sent.

Key Features: 10+ trigger types, support for Slack and Zapier integration, customizable data payload, cooldown periods to prevent spam

3. Importing API Data

Goal: Create WordPress posts from data in external APIs

Use Cases:

  • Import blog posts from another platform
  • Create product posts from your catalog system
  • Bulk-import content from RSS feeds or JSON APIs
  • Sync data periodically to keep content fresh

How it works: You configure an API endpoint and map its fields to WordPress post fields (title, content, image, etc.). API Press fetches the data and creates (or updates) WordPress posts. You can run it manually or set it to run on a schedule.

Key Features: Field mapping with fallback values, create or update modes, featured image download, periodic scheduling PRO

Getting Started: Choose Your Path

I want to show external data on my site

Start with the Displaying API Data workflow:

  1. Set up your API endpoint
  2. Choose a display template (list, cards, table, etc.)
  3. Map API fields to display fields
  4. Add the shortcode or block to your page

Read: Displaying API Data Documentation

I want to send data to external services

Start with the Sending API Data workflow:

  1. Choose a trigger (when should data be sent?)
  2. Configure the API endpoint to send data to
  3. Set up variables to customize what data is sent
  4. Test and enable the trigger

Read: Sending API Data Documentation

I want to import content from APIs

Start with the Importing API Data workflow:

  1. Set up your API endpoint and authentication
  2. Map API fields to WordPress post fields
  3. Configure import settings (post type, status, etc.)
  4. Run the import and monitor results

Read: Importing API Data Documentation

Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

  • API documentation: Know the endpoint URL, authentication method, and response format of the external API
  • Admin access: Ability to create/configure posts, settings, and custom fields in WordPress
  • Test data: Access to test the API before going live
  • Backup: For importing workflows, backup your database first