Right now, the big word on the internet is an API. People think, if we have an API, then we will have a platform. Once people start using our API, then they will be sticky onto our system. This is all true and is why API’s are great.

But how can you make your system truly sticky?

Instead of releasing just an API, you should make your system extensible. What do I mean by this? Look at Wordpress as a good example. Wordpress has already created the foundation and anything you would like to add to it, you can by only changing the pieces, instead of the whole.

In many cases, even in B2B cases, someone wants to use the API not because the existing one is bad, but because there is some functionality that works well for them which may be too niche for anyone else. With an API, the user would be expected to build their whole system from scratch. With extensibility, the user only has to change the pieces they do not like. If I wanted to create a pop-up ad appear everytime I load my main page, its an easy add to the code. If I wanted a random audio file to play with each post, again, its a simple changing of that page.

When you are building a platform, this is doubly important. Every company runs differently, they have different cultures, different workflows, when they decide to use your platform, they want to keep all of those things.