What is an IP Address?
An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is like the home address for a device on the internet (or on a local network). Just like the postal service needs your house number and street to deliver mail, computers need an IP address to send data to the right place.
Types of IP Addresses IPv4 The most common type. Looks like 192.168.1.1 (four numbers separated by dots). Each number is between 0–255. Problem: there aren’t enough unique addresses for all devices. IPv6 Newer version, created to handle the shortage of IPv4 addresses. Looks like 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334 (long, with colons). Provides way more unique addresses.
Public vs. Private Public IP: Unique on the internet. Assigned by your internet provider. Private IP: Used inside local networks (like your Wi-Fi at home). These usually look like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x. Your router translates between them using NAT (Network Address Translation).
Why Do Web Developers Care? When you type a domain name (like google.com), the internet uses DNS (Domain Name System) to look up the site’s IP address. Your browser then uses that IP to connect to the right server. Without IP addresses, devices wouldn’t know where to send or receive data.
