What best practice should be followed when encountering an error message in PHP code?

When encountering an error message in PHP code, it is important to first carefully read and understand the error message to identify the issue. Once the issue is identified, it is best practice to handle the error gracefully by using error handling techniques such as try-catch blocks or using functions like error_log() to log the error. This helps in debugging and troubleshooting the issue effectively.

try {
    // Your PHP code that may throw an error
} catch (Exception $e) {
    error_log("An error occurred: " . $e->getMessage());
    // Handle the error gracefully, such as displaying a user-friendly message
}