What potential pitfalls should be considered when inserting data into a MySQL database using PHP?

One potential pitfall to consider when inserting data into a MySQL database using PHP is SQL injection attacks. To prevent this, you should always sanitize user input before inserting it into the database. This can be done using prepared statements or parameterized queries.

// Example of using prepared statements to insert data into a MySQL database

// Assuming $conn is the mysqli connection object

// Sanitize user input
$name = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['name']);
$email = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['email']);

// Prepare the SQL statement
$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $name, $email);

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

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