Why PHP Best Practices Matter

PHP powers millions of websites and applications. Following proven conventions reduces bugs, improves readability and protects your site from common attacks.

1. Always Validate and Sanitize Input

Never trust user input. Use filter_input(), regex and prepared statements to avoid security issues.

2. Use Prepared Statements for Database Queries

$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ?");
$stmt->execute([$email]);

3. Enable Error Logging in Production

Use logs, not screen output. Configure in php.ini:

display_errors = Off
log_errors = On

4. Use Strict Comparisons

Avoid type juggling:

if ($value === 0) { ... }

5. Autoload Classes With Composer

Organise code with namespaces and autoloading to avoid file include chaos.

6–10 Additional Tips

• Limit file permissions.
• Use environment variables for secrets.
• Follow PSR standards.
• Cache expensive operations.
• Keep dependencies updated.

Mastering these fundamentals will make your code faster, more secure and future-proof.