Building a Shoes API with The Product API: A Complete Guide

Introduction to Shoes

Shoes are an essential category in retail and e-commerce. From athletic sneakers to formal dress shoes, finding the right pair with the correct size and style is crucial for any footwear purchase. Whether you're a retailer building a shoe marketplace, a developer creating a footwear app, or a consumer looking for the perfect fit, having structured shoe product data is essential.

Imagine being able to search for shoes and instantly get detailed information about each pair - from size to type. This is exactly what a specialized Shoes Product API can provide.

What Makes a Shoes API Special?

A Shoes Product API goes beyond basic product listings. It understands the unique characteristics that matter to shoe buyers:

• Size: The shoe size (e.g., '8', '9.5', '10', '42', '43') that determines fit
• Type: The category of shoe - sneakers, boots, sandals, dress shoes, running shoes, casual shoes, or athletic shoes

With this structured data, you can build powerful features like filtering by size, comparing shoe types, or recommending items based on style preferences.

Try It Out: Search for Shoes

Use the search bar below to search for shoes. Try queries like "Nike running shoes size 10", "Adidas sneakers size 9", or "Timberland boots size 8". The results will include detailed specifications automatically extracted from product information across the web.

How It Works: Technical Implementation

Now that you've seen the API in action, let's dive into how it's implemented. This specialized Shoes API is built on top of The Product API which is an AI-based product search API that works with any product and any type of query. It responds with structured JSON and supports custom structured responses, allowing you to build specialized APIs for any product category.

The Product API's powerful custom_data_schema feature allows you to define additional structured fields specific to your product category, enabling you to create category-specific APIs like this Shoes API. For more details on how the API works, see the full documentation.

Understanding APIs for Product Data

An API (Application Programming Interface) enables different software applications to communicate. For product data:

• Input: You send a search query (e.g., "shoes Nike running size 10")
• Processing: The API searches across multiple sources and uses AI to extract relevant information
• Output: You receive structured product data in JSON format

The flexibility of a product API means you can customize it for specific categories by defining additional data fields through JSON Schema.

Creating a Shoes-Specific JSON Schema to pass as custom_data_schema of search request

Here's the JSON Schema we use for shoes products:

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "size": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Shoe size (e.g., '8', '9.5', '10', '42', '43')"
    },
    "type": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": ["sneakers", "boots", "sandals", "dress shoes", "running shoes", "casual shoes", "athletic shoes"],
      "description": "Type of shoe"
    }
  },
  "required": ["size", "type"]
}

Using the Category Prefix

When searching for shoes, we prefix the search query with "shoes" to help the AI understand the context and return more relevant results.

Example Search Queries:

• shoes Nike running size 10
• shoes Adidas sneakers size 9
• shoes Timberland boots size 8
• shoes Converse casual size 7

The prefix "shoes" ensures the API understands you're looking specifically for footwear and not other products.

Complete Example: Making a Request

Here's how to make a request to The Product API with a shoes-specific schema. For complete API reference including authentication, endpoints, and all parameters, see the documentation:

const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/api?search=shoes%20Nike%20running%20size%2010&with_image=true', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    custom_data_schema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        size: {
          type: "string",
          description: "Shoe size (e.g., '8', '9.5', '10', '42', '43')"
        },
        type: {
          type: "string",
          enum: ["sneakers", "boots", "sandals", "dress shoes", "running shoes", "casual shoes", "athletic shoes"],
          description: "Type of shoe"
        }
      },
      required: ["size", "type"]
    }
  })
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.products);
Show more (27 lines)

Expected Response

The API will return products with standard fields plus your custom custom_data field:

{
  "status": "success",
  "products": [
    {
      "name": "Nike Air Max Running Shoes",
      "description": "The Nike Air Max Running Shoes feature responsive cushioning and breathable mesh upper for comfortable runs...",
      "brand": "Nike",
      "image": "https://example.com/image.jpg",
      "custom_data": {
        "size": "10",
        "type": "running shoes"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Conclusion

By combining the flexible Product API with a shoes-specific JSON Schema, you can create a powerful, specialized API for footwear products. The key is:

1. Define your schema based on what shoe data matters to your application
2. Use category prefixes in search queries for better context
3. Leverage the custom_data field to build rich, category-specific features

The same approach works for any product category - you just need to define the right schema for your needs!

Ready to get started? Create your own product API on The Product API and start building your own category-specific APIs today!

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Ready to build your own category-specific API? Check out our other API preset guides for backpacks, clothing, sunglasses, chainsaws, and more!