What potential pitfalls should be considered when creating a webpage that displays different data based on user selection?

One potential pitfall to consider when creating a webpage that displays different data based on user selection is the risk of security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection attacks. To prevent this, always sanitize and validate user input before using it in database queries. Additionally, ensure that the user selection mechanism is secure and cannot be manipulated by malicious users.

// Sanitize and validate user input before using it in database queries
$user_input = $_POST['user_input'];
$sanitized_input = filter_var($user_input, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM table WHERE column = :input");
$stmt->bindParam(':input', $sanitized_input);
$stmt->execute();