What are common errors when using PHP and MySQL to create a guestbook?

One common error when using PHP and MySQL to create a guestbook is not properly sanitizing user input, which can lead to SQL injection attacks. To solve this, always use prepared statements or parameterized queries to securely interact with the database.

// Connect to MySQL database
$mysqli = new mysqli('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database');

// Check connection
if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $mysqli->connect_error);
}

// Sanitize user input
$name = $mysqli->real_escape_string($_POST['name']);
$message = $mysqli->real_escape_string($_POST['message']);

// Prepare SQL statement
$stmt = $mysqli->prepare("INSERT INTO guestbook (name, message) VALUES (?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $name, $message);

// Execute SQL statement
$stmt->execute();

// Close statement and connection
$stmt->close();
$mysqli->close();