An IP address, or Internet Protocol address, is a unique numerical label assigned to every device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. Think of it as a street address for a house, but for a device on the internet. It helps devices find and communicate with each other.
IPv4 vs. IPv6
There are two main types of IP addresses you'll encounter:
IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4): This is the older and more common type. An IPv4 address is a 32-bit number, typically written as four numbers separated by dots, with each number ranging from 0 to 255 (e.g., 192.168.1.1). The 'v4' comes from the fact that this was the fourth iteration of the Internet Protocol. While it's still widely used, the total number of unique IPv4 addresses is limited to about 4.3 billion, and they've largely been allocated.
IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6): This is the newer version, created to solve the shortage of IPv4 addresses. An IPv6 address is a 128-bit number, represented by eight groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334). IPv6 can support a virtually unlimited number of unique addresses, making it the future of the internet.
Public vs. Private IP Addresses
IP addresses can also be categorized as either public or private:
Public IP Address: This is the unique address assigned to your network by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). It's the address that's visible to the outside world, allowing your devices to access the internet. All devices on your home network share the same public IP address when communicating with the internet.
Private IP Address: This is the address assigned to each device within your local network, such as your laptop, phone, or printer. These addresses are not visible to the public internet and are managed by your router. This is how your router knows which device to send data to on your network. A common example is the 192.168.x.x range.
Google. (2025, September 25). IP addresses in web development [Image]. Google AI.
How IP Addresses Work in Web Development
When you type a website's name into your browser, like www.google.com, you're not actually connecting directly to that name. Your computer first uses a Domain Name System (DNS) server to translate that human-readable domain name into the website's IP address. For example, www.google.com might resolve to an IP address like 142.250.191.100.
Your browser then uses that IP address to send a request to the server hosting the website. The server then uses your public IP address to send the requested data back to your network. Your router, in turn, uses the private IP address of your specific device to deliver the webpage to you.
Understanding IP addresses is fundamental to web development because they are the foundation of how devices communicate on the internet. Whether you're configuring a server, setting up a database, or simply troubleshooting a network issue, you'll constantly be interacting with IP addresses.
