Top 5 Things Your Users Might Hate About Your Webhooks
Webhooks seem like a simple enough feature to launch. Just fire some API calls when an event happens. But they can be a huge point of frustration for your users if certain best practices are not implemented. Here are the top 5 reasons why your users might hate your webhooks:
Missing Webhooks
One of the most frustrating issues users encounter with webhooks is when they simply don’t fire as expected. Missing webhooks means that critical events—like payments, signups, or system updates—aren’t being communicated, leaving users in the dark. Whether due to server errors, misconfigurations, or timeouts, a webhook that fails to trigger can disrupt mission critical workflows.
Users expect real-time updates, and when webhooks go missing without any indication of failure, it erodes trust in your platform and creates angry users.
No Retries
Sometimes it's the user's endpoint that fails, but you should still have a way for them to recover events sent while their endpoint was failing. Without a retry mechanism, even temporary issues on the user's side—like server downtime or network glitches—can result in missed webhooks that are never delivered. This leaves users scrambling to manually fix the problem, or worse, remain unaware that a crucial event was missed entirely.
By implementing a robust retry system, you give users a safety net, ensuring that events are delivered even if there’s a temporary failure. A lack of retries turns minor issues into major headaches, making your webhooks feel unreliable and difficult to trust.
Bad Auth
Bad authentication is a major pitfall in webhook security, and failing to follow best practices exposes your users to serious vulnerabilities. Simply passing a secret in the header without proper encryption opens the door to man-in-the-middle attacks, where bad actors can intercept and manipulate webhook payloads.
This is where HMAC SHA256 comes in as the gold standard. By hashing the payload using a secret key with HMAC SHA256 and including a timestamp as part of the hashed content, you not only ensure data integrity but also provide protection against replay attacks, where old requests could be maliciously reused. Without a secure authentication mechanism like this, your users are vulnerable to attacks that could compromise their data and systems.
Your Docs Are Bad
Bad documentation can turn even the most well-built webhooks into a nightmare for users. One of the most common failure points is properly verifying webhook signatures, which is crucial for security but often poorly explained. Without clear, step-by-step code samples, users struggle to implement signature verification correctly, leaving their endpoints exposed to spoofed requests.
Good documentation should include practical examples in multiple programming languages, especially showing how to verify HMAC signatures with detailed explanations of each step. This helps developers easily follow along and avoid the frustration of trial and error. Comprehensive, user-friendly documentation with real-world examples not only makes integration smoother but also ensures users are more likely to trust and adopt your webhooks.
For more tips on writing great webhook docs, check out this blog article on how to write great webhook docs.
No Logs
No logs can leave users completely in the dark when things go wrong with webhooks. Without access to a clear message delivery history, users have no way of diagnosing why their webhook didn’t trigger or where the issue lies. This forces them to reach out to support or engineering teams to dig into internal logs, creating unnecessary friction and delays.
By exposing a detailed delivery history—complete with timestamps, status codes, and error messages—you empower users to troubleshoot issues themselves. This not only improves the user experience by giving them control over debugging but also frees up your support and engineering teams from handling routine requests, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks.
Summary
Webhooks have the potential to greatly enhance the functionality of your platform, but neglecting key aspects like reliability, security, and documentation can lead to frustration for your users. By addressing common issues—such as missing webhooks, lack of retries, weak authentication, poor documentation, and the absence of logs—you can ensure a smoother, more dependable experience. Focusing on these best practices will not only improve user satisfaction but also reduce the burden on your support and engineering teams, ultimately leading to a more successful and robust integration for everyone involved.