Table of Contents:
PHP Form Handling Tutorial (Complete Guide with Examples)
Forms are the heart of interactive web applications. Whether you’re building a contact form, registration page, or feedback form, PHP provides a simple yet powerful way to handle user input.
In this complete PHP form handling tutorial, you’ll learn how to create, validate, and process forms securely using PHP GET and POST methods — with practical examples and best practices.
Understanding Form Handling in PHP
Form handling refers to the process of collecting user data from an HTML form and processing it on the server side using PHP. When a user submits a form, the data can be accessed, validated, sanitized, and stored using PHP scripts.
The general workflow:
- The user fills out an HTML form.
- The form data is sent to a PHP script.
- PHP retrieves and validates the data.
- The script responds or saves the data in a database.
Creating a Basic HTML Form for PHP Handling
Let’s start with a simple form that accepts a user’s name and email address.
Example:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>PHP Form Handling</title>
</head>
<body>
<h2>PHP Form Handling Example</h2>
<form method="post" action="handle.php">
Name: <input type="text" name="name"><br><br>
Email: <input type="email" name="email"><br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
Now, create handle.php to process this form data.
<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
$name = $_POST["name"];
$email = $_POST["email"];
echo "Hello $name! Your email address is $email.";
}
?>
Output:
Hello John! Your email address is john@example.com.
PHP Form Handling Using POST and GET Methods
PHP can handle form data via GET and POST methods.
Using the POST Method in PHP Forms
POST sends form data securely in the request body, making it ideal for sensitive data.
<form method="post" action="post_example.php">
Username: <input type="text" name="username"><br>
<input type="submit">
</form>
post_example.php:
<?php
echo "Welcome, " . $_POST["username"];
?>
Using the GET Method in PHP Forms
GET appends data to the URL and is often used for search forms.
<form method="get" action="search.php">
Search: <input type="text" name="query">
<input type="submit">
</form>
search.php:
<?php
echo "You searched for: " . $_GET["query"];
?>
PHP Form Validation: Securely Handling User Input
Validation ensures that users enter valid and safe data. PHP provides multiple ways to validate and sanitize inputs before processing.
Example:
<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
$name = trim($_POST["name"]);
$email = trim($_POST["email"]);
if (empty($name) || empty($email)) {
echo "All fields are required.";
} elseif (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
echo "Invalid email format.";
} else {
echo "Form submitted successfully!";
}
}
?>
This prevents blank submissions and invalid email formats from being processed.
PHP Data Sanitization: Protecting Against Security Risks
Sanitization removes or escapes unwanted characters from user input to protect against XSS and code injection attacks.
Example:
<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
$name = htmlspecialchars(trim($_POST["name"]));
$email = filter_var($_POST["email"], FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL);
echo "Name: $name<br>Email: $email";
}
?>
This ensures that even if malicious code is entered, it won’t be executed.
PHP Form Handling with Multiple Input Fields
You can handle multiple form elements such as text inputs, dropdowns, checkboxes, and radio buttons easily in PHP.
Example:
<form method="post">
Name: <input type="text" name="name"><br>
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="Male"> Male
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="Female"> Female<br>
Skills:
<input type="checkbox" name="skills[]" value="PHP"> PHP
<input type="checkbox" name="skills[]" value="HTML"> HTML
<input type="checkbox" name="skills[]" value="CSS"> CSS<br>
<input type="submit">
</form>
<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
echo "Name: " . $_POST["name"] . "<br>";
echo "Gender: " . $_POST["gender"] . "<br>";
echo "Skills: " . implode(", ", $_POST["skills"]);
}
?>
Advanced PHP Form Example: Contact Form with Validation
Example:
<form method="post" action="">
Name: <input type="text" name="name"><br>
Email: <input type="email" name="email"><br>
Message:<br>
<textarea name="message"></textarea><br>
<input type="submit" value="Send">
</form>
<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
$name = htmlspecialchars($_POST["name"]);
$email = htmlspecialchars($_POST["email"]);
$message = htmlspecialchars($_POST["message"]);
if (empty($name) || empty($email) || empty($message)) {
echo "All fields are required.";
} else {
echo "Thank you, $name. We received your message!";
}
}
?>
PHP Form Handling Best Practices
To ensure efficiency and security, follow these best practices:
- Always validate both client-side and server-side.
- Escape and sanitize all user input.
- Use POST instead of GET for sensitive data.
- Implement CSRF tokens for form security.
- Hash passwords using
password_hash(). - Use prepared statements when saving form data to a database.
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👉 Learn how to manage user input with PHP Variables.
👉 Understand PHP Strings for text manipulation in forms.
👉 Explore PHP Operators used in validation logic.
👉 Discover PHP HTML Integration to combine backend and frontend seamlessly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1. What is PHP form handling?
Answer: PHP form handling is the process of collecting and processing data submitted through HTML forms using PHP scripts on the server.
Q2. What is the difference between GET and POST methods?
Answer: GET displays data in the URL (useful for searches), while POST hides data and is more secure for form submissions.
Q3. How do I validate a PHP form?
Answer: Use functions like filter_var(), htmlspecialchars(), and trim() to clean and validate inputs before processing.
Q4. How can I prevent form hacking in PHP?
Answer: Sanitize inputs, use CSRF tokens, and validate all fields to prevent injection and cross-site scripting attacks.
Q5. Can PHP forms send emails?
Answer: Yes, you can use the mail() function or libraries like PHPMailer to send form submissions to your inbox.
