How can PHP developers ensure that encoded URLs are properly decoded to avoid issues with browsers automatically decoding them?

When encoding URLs in PHP, developers should use the `rawurlencode()` function to ensure that special characters are properly encoded. To prevent browsers from automatically decoding these URLs, developers can use the `urlencode()` function when constructing links or form actions. This will ensure that the URLs are correctly decoded by PHP when processing the request.

$url = 'https://example.com/page.php?param=' . urlencode('special characters #&');
echo '<a href="' . $url . '">Click here</a>';