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Webhooks are automated messages sent from one app to another when something happens — they’re a way for apps to talk to each other in real time without constant checking.
Why It Matters
- Enables real-time communication between apps, improving speed and automation.
- Reduces server load by pushing updates only when events happen (vs. constant polling).
- Simplifies integrations between your app and third-party services.
- Improves user experience with instant feedback (e.g., payment confirmation, status updates).
- Increases development efficiency by automating repetitive workflows.
Use This Term When...
- You’re integrating your app with payment gateways, CRMs, or external APIs.
- When setting up real-time notifications for order updates, user actions, or system events.
- During backend planning for event-driven architecture.
- Discussing automated workflows or third-party system triggers.
- Planning scalable, decoupled systems with minimal latency.
Real-World Example
In one of our projects, we used webhooks to enable real-time communication between the app and third-party services. This allowed for instant updates—like payment confirmations and user notifications—without the need for manual syncing.
Founder Insight
Webhooks are powerful — but they can break silently if the receiving system fails. Always include logging and retry logic to avoid losing critical event data.
Key Metrics / Concepts
- Delivery Status – Whether the webhook was successfully sent and received.
- Latency – Time taken for the webhook to reach the target system.
- Retry Logic – The method for resending failed webhook events.
- Event Payload – The actual data sent with the webhook (e.g., order ID, status).
- Security Token – A key or signature used to validate the webhook's authenticity.
Tools & Technologies
- Zapier / Make – No-code platforms that connect apps using webhooks.
- Stripe Webhooks – Used for real-time payment updates.
- Postman / RequestBin – Useful for testing and debugging webhook payloads.
- AWS Lambda – Commonly used to process incoming webhooks at scale.
What’s Next / Future Trends
Webhooks are evolving with stronger security protocols, better observability tools, and support for event-driven microservices. Expect increased use in low-code platforms and automation-first systems.
Related Terms
API Integration – Works hand-in-hand with webhooks to connect apps.
Third-Party Integrations – Webhooks often drive these in real time.
Backend Development – Where webhooks are configured and consumed.
Event-Driven Architecture – Webhooks are essential triggers in such systems.
Retry Logic – A safety measure for webhook reliability.
Helpful Videos / Articles / Pages
Learning more about webhook phishing in teams
Call to Action
Need real-time integrations that just work? Talk to our backend experts — we’ll help you implement webhooks the right way from the start.