What are some key considerations and tips to avoid problems when creating a search function in PHP?

When creating a search function in PHP, it is important to properly sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection attacks. Additionally, consider implementing pagination to improve performance when dealing with large datasets. Lastly, optimize your search queries by using indexes on relevant columns in your database tables.

// Sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection
$searchTerm = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection, $_GET['search']);

// Implement pagination to improve performance
$limit = 10;
$page = isset($_GET['page']) ? $_GET['page'] : 1;
$offset = ($page - 1) * $limit;

// Optimize search queries by using indexes
$query = "SELECT * FROM products WHERE name LIKE '%$searchTerm%' LIMIT $limit OFFSET $offset";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);