How can PHP developers ensure proper validation and sanitization of user input when manipulating URLs?

PHP developers can ensure proper validation and sanitization of user input when manipulating URLs by using functions like filter_var() with the FILTER_VALIDATE_URL filter to validate URLs, and htmlentities() or htmlspecialchars() to sanitize user input to prevent XSS attacks. It's important to always validate and sanitize user input before using it in any URL-related functions to prevent security vulnerabilities.

// Validate and sanitize user input for URL manipulation
$url = filter_var($_POST['url'], FILTER_VALIDATE_URL);
if ($url) {
    $sanitized_url = htmlspecialchars($url);
    // Now use $sanitized_url in further URL manipulation
} else {
    // Handle invalid URL input
}