What common mistakes do beginners make when trying to insert data into a MySQL database using PHP?

One common mistake beginners make when trying to insert data into a MySQL database using PHP is not properly sanitizing user input, which can lead to SQL injection attacks. To solve this issue, it is important to use prepared statements or parameterized queries to safely insert data into the database.

// Connect to MySQL database
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Check connection
if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $mysqli->connect_error);
}

// Prepare a SQL statement with placeholders
$stmt = $mysqli->prepare("INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2) VALUES (?, ?)");

// Bind parameters to the placeholders
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $value1, $value2);

// Set the values of the parameters
$value1 = "value1";
$value2 = "value2";

// Execute the statement
$stmt->execute();

// Close the statement and connection
$stmt->close();
$mysqli->close();