Best Practices for Public API Deployment in SaaS Applications

In the evolving landscape of SaaS development, many teams choose to separate their API infrastructure from their core application to better support third-party integrations and extensions. This approach raises an important question: should public APIs be hosted on a dedicated instance or endpoint?

Imagine you have a SaaS platform where the front-end and internal API are decoupled—now, you’re looking to enable external developers or partners to build upon your services. To facilitate this, some organizations opt to create a distinct, publicly accessible API endpoint, such as api.example.com, separate from the internal API used by your web and mobile applications.

This separation offers several advantages:

• Enhanced Security: Isolating public APIs reduces the risk surface, allowing for stricter access controls and monitoring.
• Scalability: Public endpoints can be scaled independently to handle varying load from third-party applications.
• Clearer Maintenance & Documentation: Maintaining distinct APIs simplifies updates and helps in providing targeted documentation to external developers.
• Better Version Management: You can implement different versioning strategies without impacting your core internal services.

When designing your SaaS API infrastructure, consider whether establishing a dedicated public API endpoint aligns with your scalability, security, and development workflow goals. Many successful platforms leverage this separation to streamline their operations and foster a vibrant ecosystem of third-party applications.

Conclusion

Hosting your public API on a separate instance or endpoint is a strategic choice that can enhance security, manageability, and scalability. As your SaaS grows and integrates with external developers, this approach can provide the flexibility needed to support a thriving ecosystem while maintaining robust control over your core services.