What are the best practices for structuring and styling HTML elements with CSS classes or IDs in PHP to ensure proper functionality and maintainability?

When structuring and styling HTML elements with CSS classes or IDs in PHP, it is important to maintain a clear separation of concerns between the HTML structure and the styling. To ensure proper functionality and maintainability, it is recommended to use external CSS files for styling and apply classes or IDs to HTML elements as needed. This allows for easier maintenance and updates to the styling without affecting the HTML structure.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
    <div class="container">
        <h1 class="heading">Hello, World!</h1>
        <p class="paragraph">This is a sample paragraph.</p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>