In what situations would it be beneficial to use session variables to customize the user experience on a PHP website?

Session variables can be beneficial in customizing the user experience on a PHP website when you need to store user-specific information across multiple pages, such as user preferences, login status, or shopping cart items. By using session variables, you can personalize the content and functionality of the website based on the user's actions and choices.

// Start the session
session_start();

// Set a session variable to store user preferences
$_SESSION['theme'] = 'dark';

// Retrieve the session variable to customize the user experience
if(isset($_SESSION['theme'])) {
    $theme = $_SESSION['theme'];
    echo "Current theme: $theme";
}