The Challenge of Real-Time Events
Webhooks are the backbone of real-time web communication. However, relying on webhooks without a solid engineering strategy is dangerous. If your server is down for five minutes, you lose valuable transactions and web hooks forever.
1. Idempotency is Mandatory
Due to retries, your webhook receiver might process the same payload twice. Implement unique event ID checks to prevent duplicate charges or double shipping.
2. Secure Signature Verification
Always verify the cryptographic signature of incoming webhooks to ensure they originate from the trusted source (e.g., Stripe, Shopify) and not a malicious attacker.