What best practices should PHP developers follow when writing and structuring their code to avoid unexpected syntax errors?

To avoid unexpected syntax errors in PHP code, developers should follow best practices such as consistent indentation, proper use of brackets and parentheses, and commenting their code for clarity. It is also important to regularly test the code for errors and use a code editor that provides syntax highlighting and error checking.

<?php

// Example of properly structured PHP code
function addNumbers($num1, $num2) {
    $sum = $num1 + $num2;
    return $sum;
}

$result = addNumbers(5, 10);
echo "The sum is: " . $result;

?>