GraphQL shifts the design work from endpoint definition to schema design. The schema is the API — every type, field, query, and mutation is declared in the schema, and the schema governs everything the API can do. Designing a GraphQL schema well requires understanding how types compose, how to express mutations that reflect real domain operations, and where GraphQL’s conventions differ meaningfully from REST patterns that GraphQL developers often import by habit.

REST APIs organize their surface around resources — the nouns of your domain. How you identify, name, and structure those resources determines whether your API feels intuitive or requires constant documentation reference. Good URL design is not aesthetic preference. It is communication: URLs tell developers what the API contains, how it is organized, and how to navigate it. Done well, a developer can infer what endpoints exist from the ones they already know.