UAMSHealth.com has used WordPress as their primary content management system for several years. In the last couple of years, they have started centralizing content areas to avoid duplication and errors. UAMSHealth.com serves as the primary hub for news at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Their latest efforts involve syndicating the news through the WP Rest API. This session will cover how they started (syndication plugins that push posts to other sites), where they are now (content syndication of posts through REST), and where they are headed next (additional Custom Post Types and beyond).

1. Centralizing News through
WordPress REST API
Todd McKee, MEd
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)

2. Todd McKee, MEd @toddmckee
Senior Web Developer
Office of Communications and Marketing

3. Wordpress at UAMS
• UAMSHealth.com (Hospital & News)
• 9000+ posts & pages
• uamsonline.com & uamsonlinedev.com (UAMS multisites)
• 150 sites with ~400 users
• uamsonlinetwo.com & uamsdev.com (Institutes)
• 7 sites with 1500+ posts
• sites.uams.edu & go.uams.edu (One-offs & Apps)
• ~30 sites with ~200 users
• 25+ of single installs (One-offs & special)

5. Before
College of Medicine
Research
Cancer Institute
Same (-ish) Story.
Posted 3 times or more
✂+📋
✂+📋
✂+📋

6. Content Syndication
• https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/how-to-
manage-the-content-in-your-wordpress-
multisite-media-empire/
• https://vip.wordpress.com/plugins/syndication/

7. Now
College of Medicine
Same Story.
Not all sites are available
Cancer Institute
Research
☑
☑
Push
🚫

8. LEVEL UP: Merging All The Things
https://online.wpcampus.org/schedule/level-up-centralized-news-and-wordpress/

9. Now
Cancer Institute
College of Medicine
Research
☑
☑
Push
🚫

10. Soon
Cancer Institute
College of Medicine
Research
One Story.
Multiple sites
Pull
☁
(Already Started)

12. • https://wpengine.com/resources/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-wordpress-rest-api/
• https://torquemag.io/2017/05/ways-start-using-wp-rest-api/
• https://jeremyfelt.com/2016/02/17/using-wp-rest-api-washington-state-university/
• https://github.com/washingtonstateuniversity/WSUWP-Content-Syndicate

14. WHAT IS AN API?
Definition: Application Program Interface
(API) is a set of routines, protocols, and tools
for building software applications.
YOU LOST ME AT “DEFINITION”
An API lets you access, or create data.
WordPress Terms: The REST API lets you access, or
create, WordPress content.
https://www.slideshare.net/royssivan/wpcampus-online-the-case-for-the-wordpress-rest-api

15. HOW DO YOU API?
Leveraging the API isn’t that difficult once
you get the hang of JSON (JavaScript Object
Notation) Use JavaScript or PHP
RESTful API
Representational state transfer (REST) or RESTful web
services is an API that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT,
POST and DELETE data (Universal connector for data).

16. JSON

17. WP Rest API 101
• WordPress 4.7+
• v2.wp-api.org
• CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete)
• /wp-json/wp/v2/
https://www.slideshare.net/AndrewDixon5/an-absolute-beginners-guide-to-the-wordpress-rest-api

18. GET
• /wp-json/wp/v2/posts
• Example

19. Filter
• Add parameters to filter
• Think WP-Query
• GET
• /wp-json/wp/v2/posts?search=awesome
• /wp-json/wp/v2/posts?page=1&per_page=2
• Example

20. Single Article
• GET
/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/{POST-ID}
• Example

21. What else can we access?
• Pages
• Media
• Custom Post Types
• Taxonomies
• Everything…

22. Examples

23. Issues
• Authentication
• Basic, JavaScript, & Oauth
• Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)
• Extending Support For Custom Content
Types

24. What are we doing?
• News on www.uams.edu
• Image on top of www.uams.edu
• Alert system (WP API v1)
• People / Physician directory (coming soon)

25. Thank you.
Questions?

26. Resources
• github.com/UAMS-Web
• github.com/UAMS-Web/UAMSWP-
Content-Syndication
• github.com/washingtonstateuniversity
• wpcampus.org