What are the best practices for organizing and including PHP files to ensure consistent functionality?

To ensure consistent functionality when organizing and including PHP files, it is best practice to use a modular approach by separating different functionalities into individual files. This helps in maintaining code readability, reusability, and scalability. Additionally, using include or require statements to include these files where needed ensures that the functionality is consistently applied throughout the project.

// Include file for database connection
require_once 'db_connection.php';

// Include file for user authentication
require_once 'auth.php';

// Include file for common functions
require_once 'functions.php';