What are the key factors to consider when designing a RESTful API?

Short answer: Consistency in naming and responses. Error handling with meaningful messages. Security (HTTPS, JWT, OAuth2). Scalability (statelessness, caching). Performance (pagination, filtering). Documentation (Swagger/OpenAPI).

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Creating an order is POST /api/orders → 201 with Location header. Fetching is GET /api/orders/{id} → 200 or 404.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.