What are common mistakes to avoid when inserting data into a MySQL database using PHP forms?

Common mistakes to avoid when inserting data into a MySQL database using PHP forms include not sanitizing user input, not using prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks, and not validating data before insertion.

// Connect to MySQL database
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

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

// Sanitize user input
$name = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['name']);
$email = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['email']);
$age = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['age']);

// Prepare SQL statement
$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO users (name, email, age) VALUES (?, ?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("ssi", $name, $email, $age);

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

// Close the connection
$stmt->close();
$conn->close();