OTP Virtual SMS Verification Script

OTP or one-time password is a fast and effective way to verify the mobile number of the user. This method is widely used for mobile number verification in the web application, mostly in banking and e-commerce sites. Generally, OTP is sent to the user’s mobile number via SMS. The user needs to submit the verification code to verify their mobile number. In this tutorial, we will show you how to implement the one-time password (OTP) verification process via SMS using PHP.

SMS Gateway provides an easy way to send text messages to mobile numbers from the script. Using SMS gateway API, you can easily send an OTP code to the user’s mobile number for verification. Most of the SMS gateway provider allows sending SMS from the PHP script. In the example code, we will use SMS gateway API to send OTP SMS using PHP.

In this example mobile number verification script, we will implement the following functionality to verify phone numbers via OTP SMS using PHP script.

• Generate a random 6 digits verification code with this script.
• Send OTP to the user’s mobile no via SMS gateway API and insert it in the database.
• Verify the OTP code and update the status in the database.
• Display the verification status to the user.

SMS Gateway API

Before getting started, you need to select an SMS gateway service provider that is suitable for your target country. Once you purchase an SMS gateway API plan, the API details will be available from the respective provider.

Collect the API credentials to later use in the script.

• API URL
• API Key

Configuration File (config.php)

In the config.php file, the API and database configuration variables are defined.

SMS Gateway API Settings:

• API_URL – API endpoint URL
• API_KEY – API Key
• SENDER_ID – Sender name or ID
• COUNTRY_CODE – Country code of the recipient’s phone no.

Database Settings:

• DB_HOST – Datebase hostname
• DB_USERNAME – Datebase username
• DB_PASSWORD – Database password
• DB_NAME – Database name