How to make an HTTP request in PHP?

Hello everyone! Please tell me how to properly make an HTTP request (GET, POST) in PHP? I'm a beginner and got confused with different approaches.

Problem: I need to send a GET request to an external API (e.g., https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1) and get a JSON response. I also need to be able to send POST requests with data (e.g., to create a new post).

What I have already tried:

1. Used file_get_contents() — it works, but I heard it's not the best approach for production, especially if you need to handle errors or send POST.

2. Tried using curl_init(), but the code turned out to be bulky, and I'm not sure if I'm configuring the parameters correctly (headers, timeouts, error handling).

Pr