What are the best practices for implementing image galleries in PHP to ensure usability and user experience?

Issue: When implementing image galleries in PHP, it is important to ensure usability and a positive user experience. This can be achieved by optimizing image loading times, providing navigation options for users to easily browse through the gallery, and incorporating responsive design to ensure compatibility across different devices. PHP Code Snippet:

<?php
// Connect to database and retrieve image data
$connection = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");
$query = "SELECT * FROM images";
$result = $connection->query($query);

// Display images in a gallery format
echo '<div class="image-gallery">';
while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    echo '<img src="' . $row['image_path'] . '" alt="' . $row['image_alt'] . '">';
}
echo '</div>';

// Add navigation options for users to browse through the gallery
echo '<div class="gallery-navigation">';
echo '<button class="prev">Previous</button>';
echo '<button class="next">Next</button>';
echo '</div>';

// Implement responsive design for compatibility across devices
echo '<style>
.image-gallery {
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(200px, 1fr));
    gap: 10px;
}
</style>';
?>