What are the best practices for ensuring consistent encoding usage in PHP applications to avoid display errors?

To ensure consistent encoding usage in PHP applications and avoid display errors, it is recommended to set the default character encoding to UTF-8 in your PHP files. This can be done by using the header() function to send the appropriate HTTP header before any output is sent to the browser. Additionally, make sure to properly sanitize and validate user input to prevent any potential encoding-related vulnerabilities.

<?php
// Set default character encoding to UTF-8
header('Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8');

// Sanitize and validate user input
$input = filter_input(INPUT_POST, 'input', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
// Use $input safely in your application
?>