What are some common pitfalls when using PHP for creating an internet shop?

One common pitfall when using PHP for creating an internet shop is not properly sanitizing user input, which can lead to security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection attacks. To solve this issue, always use prepared statements or parameterized queries when interacting with a database to prevent SQL injection.

// Example of using prepared statements to prevent SQL injection

// Assuming $db is a PDO object connected to the database

// Unsafe query without prepared statements
$user_input = $_POST['user_input'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM products WHERE name = '$user_input'";
$statement = $db->query($query);

// Safe query using prepared statements
$user_input = $_POST['user_input'];
$query = "SELECT * FROM products WHERE name = :name";
$statement = $db->prepare($query);
$statement->bindParam(':name', $user_input);
$statement->execute();