How can including the header file in start.php affect the functionality of the website?

Including the header file in start.php can affect the functionality of the website by causing conflicts with previously defined functions or variables, leading to errors or unexpected behavior. To solve this issue, you can use the `require_once` function instead of `include` to ensure that the header file is only included once, preventing any conflicts.

<?php
require_once 'header.php';

// rest of the code for start.php
?>