Why is it important to use PHP tags and echo statements when outputting variable values in PHP templates?

It is important to use PHP tags and echo statements when outputting variable values in PHP templates because PHP tags allow you to switch in and out of PHP mode within an HTML document, and echo statements are used to output the value of a variable. Without using these tags and statements, the PHP interpreter will not recognize the variable and will simply display the variable name as plain text on the webpage.

<?php
$variable = "Hello, world!";
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>PHP Template Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1><?php echo $variable; ?></h1>
</body>
</html>