Webhook Best Practices for Production

Sending webhooks seems simple — just make an HTTP POST to a URL. But in production, there are several critical considerations.

1. Always Sign Your Payloads

Every webhook payload should include an HMAC-SHA256 signature. We follow the Standard Webhooks specification.

2. Implement Idempotency

Webhooks can be delivered more than once. Use the webhook ID as an idempotency key.

3. Use Exponential Backoff with Jitter

When a delivery fails, use exponential backoff: 10s, 30s, 2m, 10m, 30m.

4. Set Reasonable Timeouts

Your endpoint should respond within 5-10 seconds. Process asynchronously if needed.

5. Monitor and Alert

Track delivery rates, latency, and error rates. Alert when success rate drops below 99%.

6. Implement a Dead Letter Queue

After all retries, preserve failed deliveries for debugging.

7. Version Your Payloads

Include a version field when you change your payload format.

HookSniff handles all of this out of the box.