USPS Address Autocomplete API

 Whether you are looking to add address autocomplete or validation capabilities to your website or online application, choosing the right API is critical. The wrong solution can lead to a bad user experience or even worse, mistakes that cost you money on shipping errors or warnings in billing systems. Address verification isn’t just about reducing cart abandonment, it can also help improve overall customer service and boost client retention.

The best address autocomplete api uses global data sets that enrich the results based on the users geolocation. This allows the autocomplete function to be used in a variety of languages and character sets. The data is also backed by a database that ensures that the addresses are real, valid and deliverable.

Smarty US Autocomplete Pro uses geolocation to provide relevant results from the first keystroke and incorporates multiple data sources to increase accuracy. The API is also more streamlined than the USPS solution, has better uptime and a tech support team to handle any questions. Melissa is another good option for high-volume address validation because of its speed and uptime, as well as its extensive coverage across 240 countries.

It uses XMLHttpRequest objects to send requests to the USPS servers and parses the returned XML response to return street address, city, state and zip code extension to the HTML form. The results are shown within 8-10 keystrokes of the user entering the field. The tool is backed by the USPS database and also contains addresses from other RELIABLE sources to guarantee that all entries are accurate.