What is My Server Address?
The server address is categorized into two — External Address and Internal Address. You may see your server address in many of our articles in many different ways, as shown in the tables below.
Here are some common terminologies you will find useful and may encounter in other support articles.
External Address
The external address (public) allows you to connect your computer to an Internet Service Provider (ISP), which then allows access to websites around the world.
Sample Uses: Connect from your computer, from another server, or from your phone to your FTP, cPanel, or email.
| Server IP Address | This is the IP address provided in your Welcome email. Note: This will often not be the same IP address your website uses and should NOT ever be used for an A record when setting up DNS for a domain. |
| Server Name or Hostname | This is the fully qualified domain name of your server. |
| Shared IP Address, or Control Panel IP Address | This is the IP address linked to your control panel or website. How you find it depends on your hosting package and control panel type. Note: This is the IP where you should point your website to (A records). |
| exampledomain.tld (yourdomain.com, example.net, etc.) | This serves as a placeholder that indicates any domain you have installed to your control panel and correctly pointed to your server by either using our name servers or the Shared IP via third-party DNS. |
Internal Address
Those on the same network can only use the internal address (private).
Sample Use: WordPress plugins trying to connect to your email account or any application or software that needs access to your server's database.
| localhost | This is a special address that always points to the same server you are on. It will allow your software to link to the software it needs to work with on the same server without using external DNS and prevent many issues. |
Where is my Server Address?
Depending on the hosting package in your account, you can click the links below to see where to find your server address.
- Shared, Cloud, and Reseller Accounts ⤵
- Optimized WordPress Packages ⤵
- VPS and Dedicated Server Accounts ⤵
- Windows Accounts ⤵
Shared, Cloud, and Reseller Accounts
For these hosting packages, you will find your server address (Server Name or Shared IP Address) in your Welcome email, Customer Portal, and cPanel.
- Welcome Email — The Server Name will be provided in your Welcome email when you purchase hosting. This is in the Your Control Panel address, followed by port: 2083.
Example:https://gator1234.hostgator.com:2083
Server Name: gator1234.hostgator.com
- Customer Portal — The Server Name and Shared IP Address are found in your Customer Portal's Settings tab.
- Log in to your Customer Portal.
- Select Hosting from the left-hand menu.
- Locate your hosting package, then click the Manage link.
- Under the selected hosting package page, click the Settings tab.
- The server name and IP Address are found in the Server Info & Settings.
- cPanel — The Server Name or Shared IP Address are found in your cPanel's General Information section.
- Log in to cPanel.
- Locate the General Information section on the right-hand sidebar.
- Your Shared IP Address is displayed among your other server details.
Optimized WordPress Accounts
You will find your server address (Server Name or IP Address) in your Welcome email and Customer Portal.
- Welcome Email — The Server Name is provided in your Welcome email.
Example:wns000.hostgator.com - Customer Portal — The IP address is found in your Customer Portal since the WordPress hosting package does not have a cPanel.
- Log in to your Customer Portal.
- In the Hosting tab, locate your WordPress package, then click the Manage link.
- The IP Address is located beside your WordPress domain name at the bottom of the page.
VPS and Dedicated Server Accounts
You will find your server address (Shared IP and Server Name) in your Welcome email and Customer Portal for the VPS and Dedicated hosting packages.
- Welcome Email — Your Server Name and Shared IP will be provided in your Welcome email, along with your server and WHM details. It will not function until your DNS is configured correctly for your VPS or Dedicated server, as you will be able to define your own server name during purchase.
- Customer Portal — The Server Name and Shared IP are found in your Customer Portal's Settings tab.
- Log in to your Customer Portal.
- Select Hosting from the left-hand menu.
- Locate your VPS or Dedicated hosting package, then click the Manage link.
- The Settings tab will display your Server Name and IP Address under Server Info and Settings.
Windows Accounts
You will find your server address (Server Name or Control Panel IP Address) in your Welcome email, Customer Portal, and Plesk control panel.
- Welcome Email Your Server Name is provided in your Welcome email along with your Plesk Control Panel login details.
Example:https://hgws00.win.hostgator.com:8443
Server name: hgws00.win.hostgator.com
- Customer Portal — The Server Name and IP Address are found in your Customer Portal's Settings tab.
- Log in to your Customer Portal.
- Select Hosting from the left-hand menu.
- Locate your Windows hosting package, then click the Manage link.
- The Settings tab will display your Server Name and IP Address, including your other server details.
- Plesk — This is your Windows package's control panel where you can find your IP address.
- Log in to your Plesk Control Panel.
- Click the Websites & Domains menu tab.
- Your IP address will be available on the information page of the relevant website.
