Why is it important to consider database design and joins when using prepared statements in PHP?

It is important to consider database design and joins when using prepared statements in PHP because joins are used to combine rows from two or more tables based on a related column between them. When writing prepared statements, it is crucial to ensure that the joins are correctly implemented to retrieve the desired data without errors or inconsistencies. Additionally, understanding the database design helps in structuring efficient queries that utilize the power of joins to fetch data accurately.

// Example of using joins in a prepared statement
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT users.username, orders.order_id FROM users INNER JOIN orders ON users.user_id = orders.user_id WHERE users.user_id = :user_id");
$stmt->bindParam(':user_id', $user_id);
$stmt->execute();