Introducing VIP API Mesh: A New Way to Enable Composable Digital Experiences

Start building the digital world you’ve always imagined

Building a great digital experience isn’t easy. No one size fits all. The promise of cookie-cutter Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs) from a single vendor has proven fatally misguided. To succeed today, organizations must compose a digital experience from multiple systems and tools.

That’s easier said than done. 

Integrating one backend can be challenging enough, but integrating multiple can quickly overwhelm a development team. As projects designed to increase innovation and agility grow more complex, the exact opposite happens. Inconsistent APIs, ensuring performance across systems, and growing complexity all lead to messy and hard to maintain homegrown middleware.

We’ve seen this movie before. 

Every complex business application requires some form of integration layer, whether that’s ETL for data on the backend, SOA for business applications, or iPaaS for cloud integration. To solve the challenges of composable applications, we need a GraphQL middleware layer to rescue teams from the burden of maintaining their own integration solution—freeing them to move quicker, build faster, and stay ahead of the market and competition.

Enter the VIP API Mesh Powered by TakeShape

Today we’re introducing a new part of the WordPress VIP platform: the VIP API Mesh, which simplifies the integration of your backend systems. 

It handles the complex connections between WordPress VIP and other platforms, allowing front-end developers to retrieve all necessary data with a single GraphQL call. This streamlined approach reduces complexity, improves efficiency, and enhances the overall performance of your application.

Key benefits of the API Mesh

The API Mesh simplifies data integration with a single API, improves performance with caching, supports data transformation, and is accessible to both technical and non-technical users.

• Single API: Regardless where data needs to come from, the API Mesh manages pulling from various backends in a clean and consistent way.
  
• Performance acceleration: With built-in caching and indexing, queries go faster, improving your user experience and Core Web Vitals. The API Mesh also takes care of error handling and retry logic to recover from unexpected issues.
  
• Data composition and transformation: Enables data transformation per your schema across multiple systems.
  
• Prebuilt connectors, GraphQL, and REST: The API Mesh comes with dozens of prebuilt connectors for common applications. However, even for companies that may have legacy systems that don’t support GraphQL the API Mesh can support pulling data.
  
• Read/write/execute: Unlike alternatives, the API Mesh isn’t limited to pulling data from a backend. Just as easily update backend data across systems or invoke actions like triggering a marketing automation workflow on the backend.
  
• No-code/low-code tools for content practitioners: The VIP API Mesh integrates seamlessly with the WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg), allowing non-technical staff to quickly and easily incorporate data from any API connected to the API Mesh into their content, without requiring  backend integration knowledge.

Common use cases for the API Mesh

Imagine a world where your digital experiences are seamlessly composed from a multitude of backend systems, enabling unparalleled flexibility and innovation. A world where overhead and costs are significantly reduced, while user experience and performance are elevated to new heights. 

This is the world made possible by the VIP API Mesh.

As we’ve worked with customers, we’ve noted many use cases where the API Mesh could help. Yes, no two customers are the same, but these are choice examples of how the API Mesh can solve real-world challenges.

Building a commerce experience from the ground up

A relatively new direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand wanted to create an integrated commerce experience. Starting from scratch, they needed to select not just a CMS, but also a commerce provider, solutions for customer service, loyalty management, and billing, plus two marketing automation solutions, one for an email channel and another for SMS. 

Some used pre-built connectors, others GraphQL, and others REST. Using the API Mesh, they delivered a top-notch commerce experience while accelerating development and ensuring maintainability—even as they rapidly evolved and experimented with new solutions.

Building atop of years of technology investments

Not all organizations have the luxury (or burden) of building from the ground up. 

Established brands have years of investments and domain-specific applications to integrate. In the second example below, on top of the CMS and commerce platforms, a brand leveraged Product Information Management (PIM) outside their commerce system. They also had a part fitment application from another provider that fed in data about which components were needed in which cases. 

Challengingly, this application typically returned data quite slowly (often measured in seconds) and returned it in XML format. Even with these limitations, the API Mesh’s caching and data transformation capabilities made it possible to build a compelling, permanent experience. 

Aggregating media from multiple systems

A media customer needed to build an application pulling data not just from their CMS, but also from a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system for imagery and rich media, a variety of external news, weather and advertising feeds, and systems for subscription management and editorial planning. 

Here, the media company delivered a compelling reader experience, even in the face of a complex and changing media landscape where not everything they needed to be successful was produced in their own newsroom.

The API Mesh: a great digital integrator

These possibilities are just the tip of the iceberg. Every organization is different, of course. But the true power of the VIP API Mesh lies in its ability to be tailored to your business’s unique needs and aspirations. 

In summary, the VIP API Mesh is a powerful tool that integrates multiple backend systems, enabling flexibility, innovation, and improved user experiences while reducing costs and overhead, providing:

• Seamless integration of backend systems for a unified digital experience
• Adaptability to evolve your digital ecosystem
• Simplified management and maintenance of your digital infrastructure

Why settle for a digital experience that falls short of your vision?

Embrace the future with WordPress VIP’s API Mesh and unleash the true power of your digital presence. Contact us now to get started.

Author

Michael Khalili, Director of Product Marketing, WordPress VIP

NJI Named WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner

We are proud to welcome NJI as a new agency partner! They are a full-service, global creative agency specializing in policy and public affairs. Rooted in Washington, D.C., with a global reach, NJI creates opportunities to inform and influence—always with localized, measurable impact. 

“After years of close collaboration with WordPress VIP’s engineering team on 50+ website builds for clients with rigorous performance and security requirements, we’re thrilled to announce our official partnership,” says NJI’s Global Vice President of Development Claudio Meira.

With over 16 years of experience, NJI has established a reputation for high-caliber work and a commitment to pushing boundaries. Their creative strategies bridge the gap between policy objectives and creative communication. 

NJI pairs audience-driven strategies with the best technology to produce secure, dynamic, and intuitive websites with an emphasis on performance and load-time optimization. They’ve designed, crafted, and built over 300 websites on WordPress. Their work on innovative websites across a myriad of industries has received global recognition from MUSE Awards, Web Excellence Awards, dotCommAwards, WebAwards, Indigo Design Awards, Summit International Awards, AVA Digital Awards, and others.

From a single code file to a server ecosystem, NJI’s in-house technical team abides by rigorous standards to enhance efficiencies, optimize performance, safeguard against security vulnerabilities, and exceed industry best practices. 

Their crew of technical experts, creative dreamers, and ambitious strategists collaborates to distill complexity. From virtual reality experiences to event activations featuring boundary-pushing creative, NJI specializes in bringing compelling stories and persuasive messages to target audiences. 

“This milestone reflects our commitment to excellence and innovation in the digital landscape, empowering us to elevate our service offerings for clients and provide unparalleled solutions that are secure, scalable, and sophisticated,” says Meira. “We’re eager to leverage our shared experiences to push the boundaries of web development.”

Learn more about the partnership here. 

IT Monks Named a WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner

We’re proud to welcome IT Monks as a new WordPress VIP Agency Partner! They’re a full-cycle digital agency that provides all the services you need for a successful online business boost: professional custom website design and development, as well as digital marketing such as SEO, PPC, and SMM.

IT Monks is a well-established web development agency primarily who deliver custom WordPress development services for publishing and ecommerce clients. Founded by Alex Osmichenko, their team of WordPress developers, UI/UX designers, QA experts, project managers, SEO specialists, and content creators has successfully delivered dozens of projects for clients across various industries. They focus on the twin worlds of publishers and advertisers, where content is created with WordPress.

The agency has grown from a small group of three to a team of 30 professional developers who can handle any request—from building a simple WordPress website to more complex, high-load multi-site architecture. With a high mastery of WordPress, they invest in every client relationship, making sure communication is well-set, and all client requests are heard and implemented.

What makes IT Monks unique is their focus on delivering fully personalized, custom-made websites enhanced with technology explicitly crafted to meet clients’ needs. Whether handling branding or website development, the agency runs thorough quality control before delivering their work. They offer a solid solution for every request, ensuring projects are completed without delay. 

The agency’s diverse portfolio features projects ranging from branded landing pages to enterprise solutions and conversion-oriented ecommerce websites. They work with large publishing companies like a360Media, and their website portfolio includes UsWeekly, CloserWeekly, LifeAndStyle, and others, where they’ve helped improve ad revenue and provided WordPress website maintenance. They also work with smaller startups from Finland, such as Ruuvi, helping them in their mission to innovate in the field of measuring sensors, and doubling revenue with a WooCommerce store built by the IT Monks team.

“Becoming a WordPress VIP partner is a great honor and a significant achievement for us. We’ve grown as a team for many years, honing our skills and refining our services to deliver excellence. Getting listed as a WordPress VIP partner is a big motivation for every IT Monks Agency team member to continue providing custom WordPress solutions that make our clients’ businesses stand out.”

Alex Osmichenko, founder, IT Monks Agency

Learn more about the IT Monks Agency’s partnership with WordPress VIP.

Fixel Named a WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner

WordPress mastery meets top-tier design.

At WordPress VIP, we strive to connect our clients with world-class design and development talent. Today, we’re proud to welcome Fixel as a Silver Agency Partner. Their strong background working with growth-stage companies in the tech space makes them an ideal partner for companies looking to launch strong and scale quickly.

Fixel was founded in 2010 in Portland, Oregon. Today, they stand as a multi-disciplinary design and development agency that specializes in building and managing websites for tech-focused companies. Their team believes the most impactful results come from a blend of exceptional design and strategic development. This philosophy guides their approach to collaborating closely with clients, making sure that they not only design and execute their vision but also bolster their marketing endeavors with strategic insights and direction.

Fixel works with tech companies looking to launch strong and scale quickly. They focus on building reliable and scalable foundations for clients to build their businesses. Fixel was built on the power of WordPress, leveraging the platform to develop extensive products at scale for companies like VMware, LexisNexis, American Psychological Association, and many others.

A new chapter with WordPress VIP

“Fixel’s expertise in custom WordPress development is a cornerstone of our business. Our partnership with WordPress VIP marks a significant milestone in Fixel’s journey, enabling us to leverage their robust platform to provide even more valuable solutions to our clients.”

Vin Thomas, Founder, Fixel

Learn more about Fixel’s partnership with WordPress VIP.

Ndevr Named a WordPress VIP Gold Agency Partner

Maximizing profitability: WordPress development and maintenance agency for digital media websites and platforms.

We’re proud to welcome Ndevr as a new WordPress VIP Gold Agency Partner! They specialize in creating and maintaining high-performance, scalable, and secure WordPress websites in the digital media space. 

Ndevr believes a strong technology strategy builds the foundation that drives compelling web experiences. As such, they offer a complete range of digital solutions, from architecture and platform selection, to development and maintenance—and everything in between.

Passionate and proud of their 15 years of collective knowledge and experience, Ndevr always brings a personal focus and commitment to every client—making sure their website not only looks exceptional but also delivers optimal performance. Every Ndevr team member is a proud leader in their respective technology field, working with large-scale enterprise sites as well as speaking at industry conferences and contributing to open source communities.

Ndevr’s primary specialization is expert WordPress development and maintenance, tailored specifically for the digital media industry. Their team excels in custom WordPress development, focusing on performance, SEO, and UI/UX optimization, ensuring that each solution is uniquely catered to clients’ specific needs.

Ndevr’s technological strengths include creating WordPress platforms that aren’t just robust and functional but also optimized for performance and user engagement. This approach has earned their agency the trust of prestigious clients like Bloomberg, Hearst, Essence, and Johnson & Johnson.

One particular highlight in their portfolio is the performance tune-up for 303 Magazine. Ndevr’s team successfully eliminated site outages as they enhanced the 303 site’s reliability and user experience. Read more about the project’s challenges and solutions here. 

For more shining examples of Ndevr’s extensive development work and thought leadership in the digital space, visit their site and read their blog.

“As experts in WordPress development, this partnership amplifies our ability to deliver even more robust, innovative solutions. It’s about bringing the best of WordPress technology and our expertise to our clients, enhancing their digital presence in unprecedented ways. Our goal is to leverage this partnership to set new standards in digital excellence, ensuring that our clients not only keep pace but lead in their respective industries.”

Matt Dorman, President of Ndevr

Learn more about Ndevr’s partnership with WordPress VIP here.

Paper Tiger Named a WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner

We are proud to welcome Paper Tiger as a new agency partner! A strategic creative agency delivering distinctly human work for distinctly human brands across websites, branding, product design, and content. 

Founded in 2008, they’ve built a reputation as a reliable strategic partner for their clients with a conscious approach to creative work that ensures results equal parts stunning and functional (i.e., they work as good as they look.) With deep expertise in web design and a 16-year track record delivering enterprise-level WordPress builds to global brands, they are a top-tier addition to the WordPress VIP partner list. 

Marked by their bench of in-house expertise across content, design, and development, they have an aptitude for breaking barriers while also maintaining a “think inside the box” mentality, believing that if everyone is thinking outside the box, then the box is empty. And if the box is empty, how do we remember what was in the box to begin with? That approach has led to a long list of prestigious awards from Webflow, Awwwards, Clutch, and countless other publications in the content, design, and development communities for partnerships with some of the most recognized names in B2B tech, CPG, media, and entertainment.

Specializing in CPG and B2B tech brands, Paper Tiger is uniquely positioned as strategic partners for startups preparing for their digital debut, as well as legacy companies undergoing rebrands and redesigns in response to major milestones like mergers, acquisitions, or preparing for IPO announcements. With a methodical approach to development that hyper-focuses on client needs and goals, they work to match stunning front-end design with tailored back-end experiences that ultimately make their clients’ workflows (and lives) easier.

“We’ve been deeply committed to WordPress for over 15 years, leveraging its capabilities to deliver exceptional results for projects big and small.

It’s woven into the fabric of our development DNA, so becoming a WordPress VIP partner is a natural and exciting progression for us.

This partnership elevates the services we can offer, providing unparalleled scalability and a premium experience tailored for our enterprise and high-traffic clients.

With access to advanced tools and infrastructure, we’re empowered to push the boundaries of what’s possible, ensuring our clients reap the benefits at every stage of development.”

— Marc Debiak, CEO, Paper Tiger

Learn more about Paper Tiger’s partnership with WordPress VIP.

FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency, Inc. Named a WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner

We are proud to welcome FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency, Inc. as a new WordPress VIP agency partner! Working with Fortune 1000 companies, they help companies “get from where they are” to “where they need to be,” helping their clients earn the trust and affection of today’s digitally-adept customers.  

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York City, FROM is a thought leader when it comes to digital strategy and software product design. The company’s enterprise clients rely on FROM’s experienced strategy and design teams to help them navigate an increasingly competitive marketplace where customers demand constant innovation and intuitive digital experiences. Clients like ADP, Avis, Transamerica, Airbus, and NBC trust FROM to improve their most important customer and employee-facing software products, as well as develop new applications that can replace outdated products or processes, in order to drive positive business outcomes.

“We’re excited to join the WordPress VIP program and serve as a solution provider to enterprise businesses looking to build high performing sites that their customers love.”

— Howard Tiersky, CEO, FROM

FROM is headquartered in New York City, with additional offices in India, Orlando, the Philippines, and South America. FROM recently acquired Algoworks—a leading provider of software product engineering services. Algoworks’ development team and consultants have completed more than 500 certifications, bringing knowledge and experience together to solve even the most challenging technology problems for customers all around the world.

What makes FROM unique is their collaborative approach to innovation. Working side-by-side with leaders from every part of their clients’ organizations, they help companies transform their processes and services for success in the digital future.

FROM helps their clients create new digital products for ecommerce, banking, travel, entertainment, and more. They optimize their client’s existing platforms, making them more engaging and profitable, and help clients unify their customer experience—online, in store, and everywhere in between.

“The FROM team is set to guide publishers in maximizing the WordPress platform and crafting exceptional site experiences.”

— Brian Harniman, VP of Strategy, FROM

Learn more about FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency, Inc.’s partnership with WordPress VIP. 

Imarc Named a WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner

We are proud to welcome Imarc as a new WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner. They have more than 25 years of experience in the digital space helping more than 300 clients do business better. Today, Imarc continues to be a premier digital agency that attracts top talent and creates smart solutions for forward-thinking brands.

To date, their 60-person+ team, located across 13 US states, has won more than 200 awards for their work, including a prized Nielsen Norman Group award for UX expertise. 

Imarc offers strategy, creative, engineering, performance marketing, and digital transformation services, focusing on building deep, strategic relationships with clients to drive results that matter. Their sweet spots include technology, healthcare, nonprofit, professional services, and talent acquisition—but they choose to remain “industry agnostic by design,” as they are energized by new challenges.  

Notable Imarc clients include JetBlue, Marriott, Breezeline, ASC Engineered Solutions, Beacon Hill Staffing Group, Aspentech, BlueVoyant, Red Bull, and Bright Horizons.

Their favorite recent wins include:

• Collaborating with ASC to produce interactive, client-forward tools, including their VEP Product Selector, Submittal Manager, and Seis Brace® Fire Protection Seismic Design Tool.
• Using split testing to increase demo conversions for Skillsoft.
• Improving qualified conversions and taking over content production for Beacon Hill Staffing Group. 

“Becoming a WordPress VIP partner means that we can offer a wider menu of options to suit the evolving needs of our web design clients. We are experts in creating attractive, accessible websites that convert. This  designation is further proof of our commitment to being on the cutting edge of platform advancements.”

— Katie Desmond, Partner & Chief Revenue Officer 

Learn about Imarc’s partnership with WordPress VIP.

WordPress VIP Receives 4th Consecutive Top Tier Recognition by Review Signal

As a part of our mission to run the web, WordPress VIP is continually rising to meet the performance needs  of enterprise organizations and government institutions at massive scale with a platform for growth. 

And it’s not just keeping customers’ websites fast, but maintaining that performance as site visitor tickers spike higher and higher. 

For the fourth year in a row, we have achieved Top Tier recognition from Review Signal’s WordPress Performance Benchmarks. 

In tests, WordPress VIP maintained perfect uptime on every monitoring service employed by Review Signal.

“WordPress VIP is a familiar face in the Enterprise benchmarks,” said Review Signal Founder Kevin Ohashi. “They’ve been a model of consistency earning Top Tier recognition every year they’ve participated. This year was no exception.”

“Overall, an unsurprising Top Tier status earned yet again [by WordPress VIP] for a stellar performance.”

—Kevin Ohashi, Founder, Review Signal

How our WordPress hosting performance was measured

Learn more about the tools Review Signal uses to put platforms through their paces, including Loadstorm, K6, WebPageTest, Uptime as measured by HetrixTools and Uptime Robot, WPPerformanceTester, and SSL. For example, K6 is designed to test cached performance by repeatedly requesting the homepage to the scale of millions. 

WordPress VIP managed 100% uptime as measured by both HetrixTools and Uptime Robot. 

Learn more about VIP’s top tier performance

Mavlers Named a WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner

We are proud to welcome Mavlers as a new agency partner. Based in India, Mavlers is a full-service digital marketing agency with a team of 100+ WordPress experts and 800+ marketing mavericks. Their 10+ years in business showcase their ability to create scalable, optimized, easy-to-manage, tailored websites for clients across industries.  

Why Mavlers?

With capabilities and expertise that go beyond web design and development, Mavlers is a favorite choice when it comes to executing marketing automation and email marketing, SEO, SEM, social and paid advertising, UI/UX design, and hiring managed marketing teams. 

The agency firmly believes in a holistic and best-practice approach to design and development. Accessibility, usability, and information architecture are at the core of all the WordPress projects they deliver. Their adept WordPress team is passionate about technology and leaves no stone unturned when it comes to delivering engaging user experiences. 

Mavlers specializes in:

• API integration
• Migration
• Headless CMS
• Gutenberg Site Editor
• Multisite and multilingual site development
• Custom WordPress development
• Ongoing website maintenance
• WooCommerce
• Backend and frontend architecture

Mavlers has a clientele spread across 50+ countries, including Disney, National Geographic, Ogilvy, Incubeta, Oracle, and Weight Watchers.

Their ‘everything digital marketing’ blog is a repository of well-researched articles on digital marketing and technology to inspire the maverick in you. Also check out their case studies to learn how they’ve helped clients up their marketing game.

“We’re elated to be a WordPress VIP Silver Agency partner. We’ve always focused on delivering exceptional experiences and services. With this partnership, we feel even more confident about becoming the most coveted WordPress agency for enterprises, delivering solutions woven through expertise.” 

— Jaymin Bhuptani, Mavlers CEO

About Mavlers

Mavlers is a full-service digital marketing agency with a team of 800+ marketing mavericks helping brands and agencies scale their digital marketing efforts by building flexible teams and delivering impeccable projects.

Learn more about the partnership