As I look through API portals, profiling the building blocks of successful API platform, I'm always looking for bite-size stories for my readers. I was working to complete my Instagram API definition, as part of my photo API research, and their getting started graphic caught my attention.

This three step getting started visual for Instagram is prominently available on the home page, providing a very distilled down version of what I recommend API providers usually accomplish with a dedicated getting started page.

The featured getting started area provides you with the link to register your application, and overview on authentication and authorization, and a link to all the endpoints, so you can start making requests. I am a big fan of there always being a dedicated getting started page for APIs that I am onboarding with, but I am always a bigger fan when someone distills these building blocks into something that is way easier to understand, and execute--without all the blah blah blah.

I'm going to consider adding a feature getting started building block, in addition to having the dedicated page. When done right, I think they can accomplish the same thing, but with one less click--reducing any friction we possibly can in the onboarding process.