What best practice should be followed when determining whether to use the forum ID or forum link for the generated link?

When determining whether to use the forum ID or forum link for the generated link, it is best practice to use the forum ID as it is a unique identifier that can be easily referenced in the database. Using the forum link can be less reliable as it may change over time or be subject to URL encoding issues. By using the forum ID, you ensure a consistent and stable reference point for linking to forum content.

// Use the forum ID for generating the link
$forumId = 123;
$link = "https://example.com/forum/{$forumId}";
echo "<a href='{$link}'>Forum Link</a>";