Is there a workaround to output data from an API that is currently being blocked on my Webflow page?
TL;DR
- Use a proxy server to fetch API data server-side and return it to your Webflow site to bypass CORS.
- Alternatively, use tools like Make or Zapier to pull API data and push it into Webflow CMS for frontend display.
Your API data may be blocked on your Webflow site due to CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) restrictions, which prevent client-side JavaScript from accessing data served from another domain. Here’s how you can work around it.
1. Use a Proxy Server
- Set up a proxy server (e.g., Node.js with Express, or use services like Cloudflare Workers, Heroku, or Vercel).
- The proxy makes the API call server-side, bypassing CORS issues, and returns the data to your Webflow site.
- You make a request to your proxy instead of the original API.
Example flow:
- Webflow page → Fetches data from
https://your-proxy.com/data - Your proxy fetches and returns data from
https://blocked-api.com/endpoint
2. Use an Allowed Third-Party Automation Tool
- Tools like Make.com (formerly Integromat), Zapier, or Pipedream can fetch data from external APIs and push the data to Webflow CMS using the Webflow API.
- This circumvents CORS restrictions because the request and processing happen outside the browser.
3. Use Webflow CMS as a Buffer
- Use server-side tools (Make, Zapier, etc.) to periodically fetch API data into Webflow CMS collections.
- Then, display that CMS data using Webflow’s native components.
- This avoids any need for front-end API calls.
4. Check If JSONP or CORS Headers Are Available
- If the API supports JSONP, you may be able to make it work via
<script>tag injection, but most modern APIs don't support JSONP. - If you can configure the API’s CORS headers (e.g., on your own backend or service), add
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *to permit cross-origin requests.
5. Contact the API Provider
- If this is a third-party API you don’t control, request that they enable CORS for your domain or provide a public endpoint specifically for browser use.
Summary
You can’t directly bypass a CORS-blocked API in Webflow front-end code. The most reliable solutions are: (a) using a proxy server, (b) routing API calls through third-party tools like Make/Zapier, or (c) syncing data to Webflow CMS in advance.