What are the potential pitfalls of using if statements in PHP to evaluate form inputs?

Potential pitfalls of using if statements in PHP to evaluate form inputs include the need to manually check each input for validity, which can lead to a lot of repetitive code and potential for errors. To solve this, you can use PHP's filter_input function along with filter_var to validate form inputs easily and securely.

$email = filter_input(INPUT_POST, 'email', FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);
if ($email) {
    // Email is valid
} else {
    // Email is not valid
}