How can PHP developers efficiently manage the size of external images to prevent page layout issues?

PHP developers can efficiently manage the size of external images by using the PHP getimagesize() function to retrieve the dimensions of the image before displaying it on the page. By calculating the aspect ratio of the image and setting a maximum width or height, developers can resize the image proportionally to prevent layout issues.

// Get the dimensions of the external image
$image_info = getimagesize($external_image_url);
$width = $image_info[0];
$height = $image_info[1];

// Set a maximum width for the image
$max_width = 500;

// Calculate the new height based on the aspect ratio
$new_width = min($width, $max_width);
$new_height = ($new_width / $width) * $height;

// Display the resized image
echo '<img src="' . $external_image_url . '" width="' . $new_width . '" height="' . $new_height . '">';