How can PHP beginners ensure proper handling of form data and URL parameters in their web development projects?

Beginners can ensure proper handling of form data and URL parameters in their web development projects by using PHP's built-in functions like htmlspecialchars() to sanitize input data and prevent XSS attacks, and filter_input() to validate and sanitize user input from forms and URLs. It's important to always validate and sanitize user input before using it in queries or displaying it on the webpage to prevent security vulnerabilities.

// Example of sanitizing form data using htmlspecialchars()
$name = htmlspecialchars($_POST['name']);
$email = htmlspecialchars($_POST['email']);

// Example of validating and sanitizing URL parameters using filter_input()
$user_id = filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'user_id', FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT);