Endpoints are functions available through the API. This can be things like retrieving the API index, updating a post, or deleting a comment. Endpoints perform a specific function, taking some number of parameters and return data to the client.

A route is the “name” you use to access endpoints, used in the URL. A route can have multiple endpoints associated with it, and which is used depends on the HTTP verb.

For example, with the URL http://example.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/123:

• The “route” is wp/v2/posts/123 – The route doesn’t include wp-json because wp-json is the base path for the API itself.
• This route has 3 endpoints:
  • GET triggers a get_item method, returning the post data to the client.
  • PUT triggers an update_item method, taking the data to update, and returning the updated post data.
  • DELETE triggers a delete_item method, returning the now-deleted post data to the client.