{"id":23509,"date":"2019-09-13T06:19:23","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T11:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=23509"},"modified":"2019-09-11T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T20:38:10","slug":"what-is-ip-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/what-is-ip-address\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is an IP Address?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re building a website<\/a>, there are probably a bunch of technical terms you\u2019ve come across that you aren\u2019t familiar with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a website can be simple, but the technology behind it is incredibly sophisticated. One term you may have across is IP address. But, what exactly is an IP address, and what does it mean concerning your website?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, you don\u2019t need to understand the intricacies of IP addresses to purchase hosting<\/a> or a domain name<\/a>. But, learning more about what\u2019s going on behind the scenes of your website will never put you at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below we cover IP addresses in depth. By the end of this post, you\u2019ll know what IP addresses are, how they work, why they\u2019re necessary, and how they relate to your domain name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Is an IP Address?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No doubt you\u2019ve come across an IP address before, whether that\u2019s through your browser, your PS4 connection, or when setting up your home wi-fi. Maybe you\u2019ve even had to deal with your IP address when setting up your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve noticed this long string of numbers and wondered what the purpose is? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

IP address is short for Internet Protocol address and is a string of numbers that usually looks something like this: 23.65.75.88. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This address is similar to your home address in that it identifies the location of a specific server that\u2019s connected to the internet. Without an IP address in place, your computer can\u2019t communicate with other computers that are linked over a network, like the internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every machine that\u2019s connected to a network will have an IP address. In this case, the network is the internet. All computers that are connected to the Internet use the TCP IP protocol to communicate and send data between one another. Each computer on this network will have a unique IP address that sets it apart from every other machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unique identifier makes data transfer possible, plus it comes into play when you\u2019re mapping a domain name to your website, as you\u2019ll soon learn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why You Want to Know How IP Addresses Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most of the time, we don\u2019t have to deal directly with our IP addresses. Instead, whatever technology provider we\u2019re using handles the technical heavy lifting for us. Or, we follow detailed instructions with how to configure our IP addresses the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, knowing how IP addresses work in a little more depth will provide you with certain advantages like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n