What are the common pitfalls when working with date formats in PHP and MySQL, and how can they be avoided to ensure accurate date display on a website?

Common pitfalls when working with date formats in PHP and MySQL include mismatched formats between the two systems, incorrect timezone settings, and improper handling of date conversions. To ensure accurate date display on a website, it is important to consistently use a standard format (such as ISO 8601) across both PHP and MySQL, set the correct timezone in both systems, and properly convert dates between formats when needed.

// Set the timezone in PHP
date_default_timezone_set('America/New_York');

// Convert date format for MySQL insertion
$phpDate = date('Y-m-d H:i:s', strtotime($originalDate));

// Convert date format for display on website
$mysqlDate = date('F j, Y', strtotime($row['date_column']));
echo $mysqlDate;