At some point in the not too distant future, the WordPress REST API functionality is going to be part of the WordPress “core”.
WordPress REST API: Why should I care?
Probably the vast majority of WordPress users out there and even many of the developers have no idea what this means. If you’re in that camp, read this article by Ryan McCue on the blog poststatus.com. If anyone should know what the WordPress REST API is going to be able to do it’s Ryan. He’s the lead developer of the functionality which is currently available in plugin form only. Rumors have it that the WordPress REST API functionality could be included in the WordPress core (meaning no plugin required) by the end of this year.
As someone whose business ebbs and flows with WordPress demand (fortunately mainly flows these days), I’m especially interested in a couple of forecasts that Ryan makes about the WordPress REST API and WordPress in general:
“The year is 2020. WordPress powers over 35% of the web now. The REST API has been in WordPress core for a few years; the year after the REST API was merged into core, WordPress gained nearly 5% marketshare.
Almost all WordPress sites use the REST API in some form or another, and an estimated 15% of all native apps use WordPress purely as a backend. 80% of the top 100 news websites run WordPress with front-ends powered by the REST API. A dozen popular hosted website platforms have custom admins or front-end editors that use the API.”
