What best practices should be followed when handling form submissions in PHP to prevent issues like failed database updates?

When handling form submissions in PHP, it is important to validate user input to prevent issues like failed database updates. One way to do this is by using prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks and ensure data integrity. Additionally, implementing error handling mechanisms can help catch any issues that may arise during the database update process.

// Validate user input
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    $name = $_POST["name"];
    $email = $_POST["email"];
    
    // Check if name and email are not empty
    if (!empty($name) && !empty($email)) {
        
        // Connect to database
        $conn = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "dbname");
        
        // Check connection
        if ($conn->connect_error) {
            die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
        }
        
        // Prepare SQL statement
        $stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)");
        $stmt->bind_param("ss", $name, $email);
        
        // Execute SQL statement
        if ($stmt->execute()) {
            echo "Record inserted successfully";
        } else {
            echo "Error: " . $conn->error;
        }
        
        // Close connection
        $stmt->close();
        $conn->close();
    } else {
        echo "Name and email cannot be empty";
    }
}