Are there best practices for encoding special characters, such as quotes, in PHP variables for search functionality?

When dealing with special characters like quotes in PHP variables for search functionality, it's important to properly encode them to prevent any issues with the search functionality. One common approach is to use the `htmlspecialchars()` function to encode special characters like quotes before using the variable in a search query.

$searchTerm = htmlspecialchars($searchTerm, ENT_QUOTES);
// Use $searchTerm in your search query