How to Make WordPress and the Internet of Things Work Together

With the advent of e-commerce and social media platforms, technology is revolutionizing at a much faster pace then we can imagine.

Today, thanks to fast and agile computers, artificial intelligence, internet, introduction to cloud infrastructure and web applications, technology have elevated itself to newer horizons. What once used to fit the size of a room now simply fits in the palm of your hands.

So what is the next big thing in the world of Information Technology?

The Internet of Things

As fewer of us are fully aware of the concept, let’s put it this way,

How would you like to wake up every morning and your alarm clock is capable of sending a notification to your coffee maker to brew the coffee that you always wanted to have, your refrigerator is well aware of the type of diet plan you are following and help you choose the perfect breakfast, your watch acts as your calendar, your phone, your personal assistant and much more.

Yes, that’s what IoT is all about. The concept dates back to a time when the first Internet-enabled device was ever created.

Back in 1990, John Romkey, a year later the Internet was publicly launched, created the first Internet Toaster.

The first IoT device was created a year before the first web page! Now isn’t that interesting?

How Large Is the Internet of Things?

According to the estimation of a leading analyst firm Gartner, it has been statistically estimated that more than 26 billion connected devices would be available in the world by the year 2020. This revolutionary paradigm is going to take a major shift to transform our lives in multiple ways.

It will optimize the way we spend our day to day lives, how we interact with things in our surroundings, automating home appliances, scheduled traveling, etc.

As per why the Internet of Things is considered the next big thing? It is because IoT circulates around machine-to-machine interaction. It’s based on integrated cloud computing and networking, highly dependent on data collection through sensors and is mobile friendly, virtual and well connected. In short, it is considered that IoT will make everything from street lamps to airstrips “smart”.

Here is a short video that defines what IoT really is and how it can transform our world.

WordPress & The Internet of Things (IoT)

As we all are pretty aware of what WordPress really is and how it has taken over 28% of the web world, it will not be wrong to address it as one of the largest CMS application in the world.

In order to make IoT WordPress Smart, WP Rest API plays an important role. Since WordPress is gradually transforming into an application framework. Companies such as MongoDB and Sensor Monkey are creating APIs for delivering effective data between endpoints of devices making them compatible and user-friendly with the CMS (WordPress) itself.

Another example is the AutoPhotoBook which is in actual a 3rd party Facebook Application that works on Facebook.com but it is designed on WordPress.

How Rest API Makes WordPress Capable of Communicating With Devices

Today, more than a billion devices are out there that are seemingly connected to the Internet. Half of them are securely interconnected with each other as well. The future of the web is undoubtedly dependent on acquiring clearer protocols and it surely depends on the APIs available.

APIs are available in WordPress to facilitate effective communication between applications and devices and that’s what the REST API in WordPress is designed to offer.

A properly coded API in WordPress defines an effective route to external devices making communication direct and easy. Efficient application hosting with clear data pathways ensures smooth data transfer, fostering an interactive environment for both devices and applications, enabling seamless communication in both directions.

Implementations of IoT in WordPress

Using WordPress integrated with IoT can benefit you in multiple ways. It can gradually help you improve the user experience and result in creating increased user engagement. RC Lations WordCamp Maine mentioned a few Implementations of IoT integration of WordPress and how it can benefit others.

With IoT integration, a professional blogger can set up an alarm notification so that every time you get a new comment on a specific post or page, you get notified immediately.

IoT devices linked with WordPress can help business owners to observe and manage each support ticket (if a support team exists) and keep a track on which tickets are catered and who catered the most of them.

IoT integration with WordPress can further keep a check on how many sales were made in a specific period of time. As soon as you achieve your goals and objectives, it waves a flag that your target is achieved.

You can also set your website to generate a mobile notification if your website observes downtime in order to resolve the problem first hand.

Since IoT is on the verge of a breakthrough, there is no such particular example of effective implementation in order to create an AI induced interactive channel between any or multiple devices. Projects with limitations on WordPress has been created such as the Nike+ plugin or Google Glass plugin; however, much can be done in the near future.

Hypothetical Examples

Since no such effective implementation is observed, here is a view of how IoT and WordPress can benefit users around the world. In order to do so, we are going to use two hypothetical examples that can best explain the process in simpler words.

Effective Push Notification: Imagine you own a WooCommerce Store and you want to boost morale each time a sale is made. Don’t worry! With the bit of tinkering around with the WooCommerce API, you can enable a push notification that can send an alarm bell to different devices interacted with it.

Data Aggregation: The Android and Apple watch is the best example. You want to keep track of your favorite football team and their respective performances. All you have to do is integrate WordPress with your phone and watch and now you can have live information directly transferred to you through your Football fantasy app.