Wix app APIs, SDKs and data handling

The Wix platform exposes a rich set of APIs and SDKs that your app can leverage to interact with every part of a Wix site: data, content, eCommerce, bookings, CRM, members, events and more. This lesson provides a comprehensive deep dive into the most important APIs, with practical examples showing how to use each one in your Wix app. Mastering these APIs is what separates basic apps from powerful, deeply integrated solutions.

The Wix SDK Landscape

Wix provides three layers of APIs for app developers. Understanding which to use and when is critical for building efficient, maintainable apps.

• Dashboard SDK (@wix/dashboard): Used in dashboard pages. Provides toasts, modals, navigation, page info and dashboard-specific utilities.
• Editor SDK: Used during the Wix Editor session. Lets your app respond to editor events, modify the page structure and configure widgets.
• Wix JavaScript SDK (@wix/sdk): The main SDK for data operations, authentication, CRM, eCommerce and all platform services. Used in both frontend and backend.
• REST APIs: HTTP-based APIs for server-to-server communication. Used when you need to call Wix from external services or webhooks.

Wix Data API: Database Operations

The Wix Data API is the most commonly used API in app development. It provides full CRUD operations on Wix database collections, including your app's custom collections and the site's existing collections (with appropriate permissions).

// Wix Data API - Complete CRUD example
import { items } from '@wix/data';
import { createClient, OAuthStrategy } from '@wix/sdk';

// Initialize the Wix SDK client
const wixClient = createClient({
  modules: { items },
  auth: OAuthStrategy({
    clientId: 'YOUR_APP_CLIENT_ID',
  }),
});

// CREATE - Insert a new item
async function createSeoReport(report) {
  const result = await wixClient.items.insertDataItem({
    dataCollectionId: 'SeoReports',
    dataItem: {
      data: {
        siteUrl: report.url,
        score: report.score,
        issues: report.issues,
        scannedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
      },
    },
  });
  return result;
}

// READ - Query items with filters
async function getRecentReports(siteUrl, limit = 10) {
  const result = await wixClient.items.queryDataItems({
    dataCollectionId: 'SeoReports',
    query: {
      filter: { siteUrl: { $eq: siteUrl } },
      sort: [{ fieldName: 'scannedAt', order: 'DESC' }],
      paging: { limit },
    },
  });
  return result.dataItems;
}

// UPDATE - Modify an existing item
async function updateReport(itemId, updates) {
  const result = await wixClient.items.updateDataItem({
    dataCollectionId: 'SeoReports',
    dataItemId: itemId,
    dataItem: {
      data: updates,
    },
  });
  return result;
}

// DELETE - Remove an item
async function deleteReport(itemId) {
  await wixClient.items.removeDataItem({
    dataCollectionId: 'SeoReports',
    dataItemId: itemId,
  });
}

Wix CRM and Contacts API

If your app needs to interact with the site's contacts, leads or members, the Wix CRM API provides everything you need. This is essential for marketing apps, lead generation tools and member management solutions.

• Query contacts: Search and filter the site's contact list by email, name, labels and custom fields
• Create contacts: Add new contacts programmatically (e.g., from form submissions or external imports)
• Update contacts: Modify contact information, add labels, and update custom fields
• Contact activities: Log activities against contacts for tracking engagement and interactions
• Labels and segments: Create and manage contact labels for segmentation and targeted marketing

Wix eCommerce API for Store Apps

The eCommerce API is one of the most powerful Wix APIs, providing access to products, orders, inventory, carts, checkout and more. If you are building a store enhancement app, this API is your foundation.

// Wix eCommerce API - Product operations example
import { products } from '@wix/stores';

// Query products with filters
async function getProductsForSeo(limit = 50) {
  const result = await wixClient.products.queryProducts()
    .limit(limit)
    .find();

  return result.items.map(product => ({
    id: product._id,
    name: product.name,
    slug: product.slug,
    description: product.description,
    seoTitle: product.seoData?.title || '',
    seoDescription: product.seoData?.description || '',
    images: product.media?.items?.length || 0,
    hasAltText: product.media?.items?.every(
      img => img.image?.altText
    ) || false,
  }));
}

// Check product SEO completeness
function auditProductSeo(product) {
  const issues = [];

  if (!product.seoTitle || product.seoTitle.length < 30) {
    issues.push('SEO title is missing or too short (min 30 chars)');
  }
  if (!product.seoDescription || product.seoDescription.length < 120) {
    issues.push('Meta description is missing or too short (min 120 chars)');
  }
  if (product.images === 0) {
    issues.push('Product has no images');
  }
  if (!product.hasAltText) {
    issues.push('One or more images are missing alt text');
  }

  return {
    ...product,
    seoScore: Math.max(0, 100 - (issues.length * 25)),
    issues,
  };
}

Wix Bookings and Events API

For apps serving service-based businesses, the Bookings API lets you interact with services, schedules, sessions and bookings. The Events API handles event management, ticketing and RSVPs.

• Services: List and query available services, their schedules and pricing
• Sessions: Access individual session slots, availability and booking status
• Bookings: Create, update and manage customer bookings programmatically
• Events: List events, manage tickets, track RSVPs and handle event registration
• Calendar: Access the site's calendar for scheduling and availability checks

Handling Webhooks and Real-Time Events

Webhooks let your app react to events happening on the Wix site in real time: new orders, updated contacts, published blog posts and more. This is how you build reactive, event-driven apps.

// src/backend/events/orders.ts
// Handle new order events from Wix Stores
import { orders } from '@wix/ecom';

export async function onOrderCreated(event) {
  const order = event.data;

  // Process the new order
  console.log('New order received:', order._id);

  // Example: Check if the order source page has good SEO
  const referringUrl = order.channelInfo?.externalOrderUrl;
  if (referringUrl) {
    await logOrderSource({
      orderId: order._id,
      source: referringUrl,
      value: order.totals?.total,
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
    });
  }
}

// Handle order status changes
export async function onOrderUpdated(event) {
  const { previousOrder, currentOrder } = event.data;

  if (previousOrder.status !== currentOrder.status) {
    console.log(
      'Order status changed:',
      previousOrder.status,
      '->',
      currentOrder.status
    );
  }
}

Rate Limits, Pagination and Error Handling

Production Wix apps must handle API constraints gracefully. Here are the critical patterns you must implement.

• Rate limits: Wix APIs enforce rate limits per app instance. Implement exponential backoff for 429 responses.
• Pagination: Always use cursors or offset pagination for large data sets. Never assume all data fits in one response.
• Error handling: Wrap every API call in try/catch. Log errors with context (instance ID, operation, timestamp) for debugging.
• Caching: Cache frequently accessed data that does not change often. Use in-memory caching for the session or database collections for persistence.
• Timeouts: Set reasonable timeouts for API calls (10-30 seconds) and provide user feedback during long operations.