What best practices should be followed when using the phpmailer library to ensure efficient and reliable email delivery in PHP applications?

When using the phpmailer library in PHP applications for sending emails, it is important to follow best practices to ensure efficient and reliable email delivery. This includes setting proper configuration options, handling errors gracefully, and securing the email sending process to prevent abuse.

// Include the PHPMailer library
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

// Create a new PHPMailer instance
$mail = new PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer();

// Set the necessary configuration options
$mail->isSMTP();
$mail->Host = 'smtp.example.com';
$mail->SMTPAuth = true;
$mail->Username = 'your@example.com';
$mail->Password = 'your_password';
$mail->SMTPSecure = 'tls';
$mail->Port = 587;

// Set the sender and recipient email addresses
$mail->setFrom('your@example.com', 'Your Name');
$mail->addAddress('recipient@example.com', 'Recipient Name');

// Set the email subject and body
$mail->Subject = 'Subject of the email';
$mail->Body = 'Body of the email';

// Send the email
if (!$mail->send()) {
    echo 'Message could not be sent.';
    echo 'Mailer Error: ' . $mail->ErrorInfo;
} else {
    echo 'Message has been sent';
}