JavaScript Object Notation or JSON, is a lightweight, data interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write and for machines to parse and generate. Small business owners who are handling business operations that include online data storage and other computerized processes, use JSON files to exchange data between web applications and their servers.
JSON is a lightweight text format based on JavaScript object syntax. It allows you to represent structured data as a string. This is especially useful when you want to send data to a server via a network. The beautiful thing about it is it’s simple, and it works everywhere. These days, it’s the way that apps talk to themselves and to each other.
Why Your Business Should Care About JSON Files
In general, when you integrate disparate business applications, they talk to each other using a data format called JSON. Microsoft’s Azure Architecture Center research on this has found that JSON is ideal for integrations because it is language agnostic.
Allows applications built in different languages to interoperate
Helps easily integrate things like accounting systems with marketing automation and inventory control
Avoids unnecessary technical complexity and cost to implement
Future-proofs your technology investment as your business expands
For example, a Java based application can easily send and receive data to and from a Python based application or your mobile app can talk to backend servers without language-specific technical issues. This universality avoids “integration pain points” that often place undue burdens on small business IT budgets.
How JSON Files Work
They use key and value pairs, which can be thought of as labeled boxes that contain information. For example, your file might have the key of “firstName” and the value of “John” for customer information. In other words, a key and value pair allow you to define and store your data with a simple hierarchy that your team can understand at a glance. As the JSON reference from MDN puts it, there are only five data types supported by valid JSON:
Strings (plain text surrounded by quotes)
Numbers (integer or decimal values for any quantifiable data or measurements)
Objects (other JSON data surrounded by curly braces)
Arrays (lists of values surrounded by square brackets)
It’s this versatility that means you can use JSON to represent almost any type of business data that you might want, from customer data to inventory lists to sales histories. Your IT support can help diagnose and solve issues without a lot of heavy lifting because they can easily see the structure.
Understanding APIs
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are the primary reason JSON has become so critical for modern businesses. An API is essentially a bridge that allows two different software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other.
For instance, let’s say you’re a small music label looking to integrate in-house AI Video generation software. Instead of building one yourself, or hiring an expensive engineer, you can simply use an API key from a source like Atlas Cloud, Creatify, Fal AI, and many more. By copying and implementing your API key into your site’s code, the capabilities are then “fetched” such that your users can utilize them. Today, using no tools like Claude Code, Cursor, or AI Web builders make API integration easier than ever—even for someone with little to no coding experience. Over the last year, these tools have allowed non-technical business owners to build full applications around a set of APIs.
How APIs and JSON Work Together
REST APIs—which primarily use JSON—have become the standard for linking business apps and enabling data to flow between them. APIs make it possible for your accounting software to send invoice data to your payment processor. They also enable your inventory system to sync with your e-commerce store. The more you understand about how APIs use JSON, the better decisions you can make about your tool integrations. The most important things to know about how APIs and JSON work together are:
APIs use JSON to standardize the formatting of data sent between apps
REST APIs (the most widely used kind) exclusively use JSON for request and response payloads
JSON’s lightweight format allows for faster API response times and better system performance
Standard JSON formatting enables your business to integrate tools from multiple vendors with no custom coding required
When assessing a new software option or third-party integration, a vendor’s API documentation will likely include JSON examples. This is useful information to have when you’re trying to figure out what is and isn’t possible for your business, and when you’re collaborating with your developers about technical requirements. APIs that leverage JSON can turn inflexible, siloed software into a cohesive ecosystem that reacts to your business’s demands.
JSON in Database Management
You will likely come across JSON databases like MongoDB or Firebase as your company grows. These databases allow for flexible storage that easily adapts to new business demands without expensive migration. However, they differ in a few key operational ways from their relational counterparts:
Flexible schema that evolves with business needs without migrations
Hierarchical storage that reflects how your applications are naturally structured
Scales to handle millions of reads and writes per second as demand grows
Automated backup and high availability with enterprise-grade durability
Amazon Web Services demonstrates that these capabilities make JSON databases particularly valuable for businesses with growing, changing data needs. The ability to scale without expensive database redesigns provides significant long-term cost advantages.
Other Common Business Applications of JSON
JSON is far more than a programming-related file; it is used for a wide variety of business functions. Stack Overflow’s REST API Best Practices explains that nearly all web service integrations are performed with REST APIs, which prefer JSON formatted data. Small businesses use JSON for many different functions every day. Here are a few examples of how small businesses use JSON:
E-commerce websites to manage their catalogs and inventories
Payment processors like Stripe to store and send transaction data
Mobile applications for syncing data between a phone and a server
So if you’re trying to use integrations or custom integrations with third-party applications, it’s very likely that your developers will be working with JSON.
Practical Advantages
Being a text-based format, JSON is self-descriptive. And as mentioned in the example, this means it needs very little additional code to be parsed and worked with. However small a company might be, there are practical benefits in working with JSON driven systems:
Lower IT costs due to reduced need for complex, specialized software
Faster data transmission that directly lowers cloud computing expenses
Human-readable structure enabling tech teams to make edits without expensive developers
Easy troubleshooting through straightforward text file examination
These efficiencies matter more as your business scales and technology budgets become tighter. The combination of simplicity and flexibility makes JSON an ideal choice for growing organizations managing multiple digital tools.
Opening and Managing JSON Files
You do not need special software to open a JSON file. In fact, MDN’s documentation on the Web API states that only basic tools are necessary for working with JSON files. As a small business owner, you will not need to purchase any costly software to look at or troubleshoot your JSON data. Several basic applications are useful for opening and editing JSON files:
If you receive a JSON file from a vendor for an export or have integration logs to review, you will know how to open those files for review and inspection. Simply knowing that JSON files are a text file will demystify much of the process and your team will be able to self-service most basic troubleshooting.
FAQs
JSON is just a data format—it’s up to you to make sure it’s secured properly. It’s crucial that you only transmit it over encrypted connections (HTTPS) and store it with proper access controls. It’s your vendors’ responsibility to implement security, but you need to be sure they follow industry best practices (encryption, in transit/at rest, etc. ).
CSV files are simple flat tables (rows and columns), which makes them useful for representing data like a list of customers. JSON is flexible and supports nested hierarchical data models, which makes it more useful for more complex parent-child relationships. CSV is a natural export format for lots of business applications, while JSON is the native data format of all the modern APIs.
Most modern business software supports some sort of JSON API. If you’re in the market for new tools, this is one of the first questions you should ask your vendors. If they have REST APIs with JSON support, it’s going to be much easier (and cheaper) to connect to your other systems, than some older proprietary connection methods.
That’s one of the nice things about JSON databases (MongoDB, et al.). Unlike older, traditional databases, you don’t have to undergo a costly redesign process when your data model changes. Since JSON is more flexible (think “schema-less”), you can change data formats or add new fields on the fly without the migrations that relational database schemas require.
Don’t let the technical nature fool you—JSON is used by almost every major technology company on the planet. Social media companies (Twitter, Facebook), payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Square), cloud computing providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud)—if a service has an API, there’s a good chance it’s using JSON. That’s why it’s become the de facto industry standard.
JSON databases can be a viable replacement, but it depends on your use case. For companies with more rapidly changing data models, JSON databases (MongoDB, et al.) are a great fit. However, there are still some applications where a traditional relational database (SQL) is a better choice (more structured, predictable data). The right decision for your business depends on the specifics of your case. Your developers and tech team can help you figure that out.
REST APIs are built to deal with this. If JSON is sent to a service and is corrupted or improperly formatted, the system rejects the data and returns an error message. That stops bad data from entering your systems. Your IT department can set up monitoring and alerts to let you know when failures happen.
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