How does a webhook work?

With traditional API communication, an application must repeatedly ask (poll) if new information is available. This consumes a lot of server time and bandwidth. Webhooks, on the contrary, work on the push principle: information is sent automatically as soon as something relevant happens.

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The operation of a webhook in 5 steps

Registration: First, you configure a webhook in the sending application (for example, Shopify, WooCommerce or Magento). You specify which events you want to track and which URL the messages should be sent to. This URL is called the hook URL. In the case of Server-Side Tagging, you send it to your server container URL.

Trigger: When an event occurs in the sending application that you have set as a trigger (such as a new order), the webhook is activated.

Send: The application automatically sends an HTTP POST request to your hook URL. This message contains all relevant information about the event, usually in JSON or XML format. In the case of Server-Side Tagging, the webhook payload is in the form of a JSON file filled with eCommerce, marketing and user info.

Receipt and processing: Your server receives the webhook message and processes the data according to the programmed logic. This could include updating a database, sending an e-mail or updating statistics. In the case of Server-Side Tagging, this is processing the received data into a purchase event that can be forwarded to Google Analytics 4 or Meta Ads, among others.

Confirmation: Your server returns an HTTP status code (such as 200 OK) to indicate that the message was successfully received. If the sending application does not receive a positive confirmation, it may try to resend the message.

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For a properly working webhook implementation, it is important that your hook URL is always reachable. You also need to consider security, such as verifying the authenticity of incoming messages with a secret key or signature. Webhooks offer a powerful way for applications to communicate without having to constantly check for new information. Due to the push mechanism, they are efficient and provide real-time data exchange between different systems.

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