Dedicated IPs, IP Address

This article discusses what an IP address is, what the difference is between a shared IP and a dedicated IP, and what the benefits of having a dedicated IP are.

Here are the topics discussed in this article.

• What is an IP address? ⤵
• Shared IP vs. Dedicated IP address ⤵
• Can I have a dedicated IP for my hosting plan? ⤵
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ⤵

What is an IP address?

An Internet Protocol address, most commonly known as the IP address, is a unique string of numbers that looks something like 123.45.67.89 and identifies a computer that’s connected to the internet. Similar to your home address, it identifies the location of a specific server that’s connected to the internet. Without an IP address in place, your computer can’t communicate with other computers that are linked over a network, like the Internet.

IP addresses are part of the Domain Name System (DNS), which is basically one giant address book. Domain names are mapped out to various IP addresses. When you type in a domain into your web browser, your ISP will look up the domain name, see the associated IP address, and then pull up the site responding to that IP address. All of these tasks happen just behind the scenes and only take less than a couple of seconds.

Shared IP vs. Dedicated IP address

By default, all Shared and Reseller hosting accounts have only one shared IP address and no dedicated IP address. You can find your site's current shared IP in the General Information section located on the right-hand side of your cPanel.

Shared IP addresses are more common than dedicated IPs. With a shared IP, you have multiple sites sharing the same IP address. The user’s web browser will communicate with the DNS and server to display the correct website. With a shared IP address, hundreds of sites could use the same IP address.

A dedicated IP address is where you have a single IP address that is yours and your site alone. That means you would not be sharing an IP address with any other sites, even though you're sharing the same server.

Unless it is necessary for you to have the unique benefits of a dedicated IP, you’ll probably be fine using a shared IP address.

Can I have a dedicated IP for my hosting plan?

Dedicated IPs for All Shared hosting

Shared hosting packages are not eligible for a dedicated IP address at this time.

Dedicated IPs for Reseller hosting

Reseller hosting packages are not eligible for a dedicated IP address at this time.

Dedicated IPs for VPS hosting

All of our VPS plans are initially provisioned with 1 Dedicated IP address, but VPS plan customers can request one more IP address at no additional cost for a max of 2 IP addresses. If you have any questions, please contact us via phone or chat.

Dedicated IPs for Dedicated hosting

All of our Dedicated hosting servers are initially provisioned with 1 Dedicated IP address, but depending on the type of server plan, Dedicated server owners can request to have up to the maximum amount of Dedicated IP addresses on the server, as stated in the chart below.

HostGator's justification practices for IP distribution are subject to change to remain in conformity with the policies of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). We reserve the right to deny any dedicated IP request based on insufficient justification or current IP utilization.

A dedicated IP change requires 4 hours to resolve. Your site may appear to be down during that time. You will NOT need to change your name servers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I really need dedicated IP hosting?

Please note that dedicated IP addresses aren’t the same as getting a Dedicated hosting account. You can have shared IP addresses on a Dedicated server, just like you can have dedicated IP addresses on a Shared server.

If this is your first website, there's a low chance you'll need to upgrade to a dedicated IP.

If you're looking for much-improved site benefits, then consider upgrading all the way to Dedicated hosting with a dedicated IP address included.