How can PHP developers handle error messages effectively when validating email addresses?

When validating email addresses in PHP, developers can handle error messages effectively by using the filter_var function with the FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL flag. This function will return false if the email address is invalid, allowing developers to display an appropriate error message to the user.

$email = $_POST['email'];

if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
    echo "Invalid email address";
} else {
    // Proceed with further processing
}