why do i get dupilicate table header

when i run this code i get duplictae header

$search=$_POST["search"];

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM contacts WHERE firstname LIKE '%$search%' OR lastname LIKE '%$search%' OR email LIKE '%$search%' OR phone LIKE '%$search%'");



echo "<table>";
while($row=mysql_fetch_array($result))


{
$firstname=$row["firstname"];
$lastname=$row["lastname"];
$email=$row["email"];
$phone=$row["phone"];


echo "<tr>FIRSTNAME<td>" . $firstname . "</td>LASTNAME<td>" . $lastname . "</td>EMAIL<td>" . $email . "</td>PHONE<td>" . $phone . "</td></tr>";





}



?>
</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

</body>
</html>



FIRSTNAMELASTNAMEEMAILPHONEFIRSTNAMELASTNAMEEMAILPHONEFIRSTNAMELASTNAMEEMAILPHONEFIRSTNAMELASTNAMEEMAILPHONE
collins smith 5555

 

I need to see the page on how it looks, then I can identify your problem

But I think it is because you are not ending the table add this "</table>" below the loop

 

You cannot have text inside <table> and outside the <td> tags. Check the HTML specs for tables, your resulting markup is invalid.

 

You are generating completely invalid html, try this template:

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last name</th>
<th>Email</th>
<th>Phone</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
[loop]
<tr>
<td><?= htmlspecialchars($firstname) ?></td>
<td><?= htmlspecialchars($lastname) ?></td>
<td><?= htmlspecialchars($email) ?></td>
<td><?= htmlspecialchars($phone) ?></td>
</tr>
[end loop]
</tbody>
</table>

Code (markup):

Also, please note that I added in escaping of output using the htmlspecialchars() function. This prevents stray characters in your file names like < and > from breaking your HTML.

 

This should work

<?php
$search = $_POST["search"];

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM contacts WHERE firstname LIKE '%$search%' OR lastname LIKE '%$search%' OR email LIKE '%$search%' OR phone LIKE '%$search%'");
echo "<table>";

// This is the table header
echo "<tr><td>Firstname</td><td>Lastname</td><td>Email</td><td>Phone</td></tr>";
while($row=mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
    $firstname=$row["firstname"];
    $lastname=$row["lastname"];
    $email=$row["email"];
    $phone=$row["phone"];
    echo "<tr><td>" . $firstname . "</td><td>" . $lastname . "</td><td>" . $email . "</td><td>" . $phone . "</td></tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
?>
</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

</body>
</html>

PHP:

 

yes this is what i meant in my previous post good work