What considerations should be made when deciding between storing data in separate tables versus adding additional columns in PHP database structures?

When deciding between storing data in separate tables versus adding additional columns in PHP database structures, consider the normalization of the database. If the additional columns are related to a different entity or have a one-to-many relationship, it's better to create a separate table. This helps maintain data integrity and avoids redundancy in the database.

// Example of creating separate tables for related data

// Create a users table
CREATE TABLE users (
    id INT PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(50)
);

// Create a user_details table to store additional user information
CREATE TABLE user_details (
    id INT PRIMARY KEY,
    user_id INT,
    address VARCHAR(100),
    phone_number VARCHAR(15),
    FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(id)
);