How can the code snippet provided be improved to handle form validation more efficiently and securely?

The code snippet provided can be improved by implementing server-side form validation to ensure that user input is secure and accurate. This can be done by checking each form field for the required format, length, and data type before processing the form data. Additionally, using PHP functions like `filter_var` and `htmlspecialchars` can help prevent common security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks.

// Server-side form validation
$errors = [];

if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    $name = htmlspecialchars($_POST["name"]);
    $email = filter_var($_POST["email"], FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL);
    $message = htmlspecialchars($_POST["message"]);

    // Validate name
    if (empty($name)) {
        $errors[] = "Name is required";
    }

    // Validate email
    if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
        $errors[] = "Invalid email format";
    }

    // Validate message
    if (empty($message)) {
        $errors[] = "Message is required";
    }

    // If no errors, process form data
    if (empty($errors)) {
        // Process form data
    }
}