In the context of PHP web development, what are the differences between linking to internal pages and external URLs, and how should they be handled differently?

When linking to internal pages in PHP web development, you can simply use relative paths to navigate within your website. However, when linking to external URLs, it's important to use absolute URLs to ensure the correct destination is reached. Additionally, when linking to external URLs, it's a good practice to validate and sanitize the URL to prevent security vulnerabilities. 

// Internal page link
<a href="about.php">About Us</a>

// External URL link
<a href="https://www.example.com" target="_blank">External Link</a>

Keywords

PHP web development internal pages external URLs handling differences

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