With innumerable computers, routers, and webpages globally, the internet requires a method of distinguishing between them all.  This brought about the need for IP addresses, which are a string of numbers separated by three periods.

IP addresses have become an integral part of how the internet operates, and every website has a minimum of one IP address connected to it.  The website uses this IP address to interact with devices on a network.

You may wonder, “What then is the need for domain names (i.e. yourxyz.com)?” You would agree that remembering a random string of numbers could be a difficult task. This was why developers created a simpler domain name system (DNS).

However, on the back end, the DNS resolves the domain names to the numerical IP addresses, which computers can then use to communicate with other devices.

How To See My Website’s IP Address

You may want to know the IP address of your website, in addition to your domain name. This is very crucial, as knowledge of your website’s IP address can be useful to:

1. Block certain sites
2. Divert applications that could block your website
3. Find the geographical location of devices on a web server, and so on.

Unfortunately, finding the IP address of a website can be a daunting task, especially for persons with little or no technical know-how. However, you needn’t worry, as in this guide, we would unravel the various ways through which you can look up the IP address of your website, on different operating systems.

Finding the IP address of your website can be done in one of these four ways:

1. Check your welcome mail
2. Use the ping command
3. Use the nslookup command
4. Use a global DNS lookup tool

Keep reading to find out the steps involved in each method.

Check Your Welcome Mail

The IP address of your domain/server is usually included in the welcome mail issued to you by your web hosting company. If you cannot find it, you can open a ticket with customer support, or proceed to follow any of the other methods below.

Using The Ping Command

You can also use the ping command line to find the IP address of your website. While the ping command is usually used to check for the reliability of a connection (through its response time), it also returns the IP addresses of websites in the process.

First, you will need to open a command line. After accessing the command line through one of the methods unique to your OS, you can then proceed to use the command prompt to find your IP address.

There are various ways to open a command line, depending on your OS.

In Mac:

There are three ways:

1. Go to your Launchpad, and click on Others Then double-click the Terminal icon.
2. Go to the Applications folder. Click on Utilities. Double-click on the Terminal icon.
3. Click on the Spotlight icon. Type “Terminal”. Double-click on the Terminal icon.

In Windows:

There are also three ways:

1. Press Windows + R, and type “cmd”. Press Enter to open CLI.
2. Type “cmd” on the search bar, and select the command prompt at the top.
3. Right-click the bottom left corner to open the Menu, and select the command prompt on it.

In Linux:

Press “Ctrl + Alt + T” to open to open CLI.

Having accessed the command line, proceed to find your IP address for Mac and Linux, using the steps below:

1. At the prompt, type in “ping”, leave a single space bar, and then type in your website’s domain name. For example: “ping www.yourxyz.com”
2. Press Enter.

Both the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses would be displayed.

In Windows, you can also use the tracert command, by following the steps below:

1. Type in “tracert” at the prompt, leave a single space bar and then type in your website’s domain name. For example: “tracert www.yourxyz.com”
2. Press Enter.

Using The nslookup Command

The nslookup command is another way through which you can check the IP address of a website. The nslookup tool was specifically designed for looking up IP addresses. It also provides added information to end-users than the ping command, but both can be used for the same purpose.

Almost all operating systems (Microsoft Windows, Mac, and Linux, amongst others), provide the nslookup tool. To find the IP address of a website using this tool, follow the steps below:

1. Open the nslookup command prompt and type “nslookup”
2. Leave a single space, and type your website’s domain name. For example: “nslookup yourxyz.com”
3. Press Enter.

The line immediately below the server line is your website’s IP address. The Addressees line would also show an IPv6 address.

Mac users can likewise open the Terminal icon, and run the same command. An IPv4 address would be shown below the Addresses line.

Using The Global DNS Lookup Tool

While both the ping and nslookup command options are great for finding the IP address of a website, using the DNS lookup tool is the simplest of the three. To begin:

1. Go to any of the DNS lookup tools
2. Enter your website’s URL or domain name (as the case may be), into the section for text entry.
3. Click Search/Lookup

The IPv4 address is displayed below.

However, do note that many large companies have more than one IP address associated with their domain names. Using this method for such websites could often yield multiple IPv4 addresses that differ from the IPs shown when other methods are used.

The Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6 Addresses

When receiving results for an IP address query, you are likely to receive one of the two kinds of IP addresses: IPv4 or IPv6. In some cases, both kinds could be displayed when available. However, there is no difference between the two in terms of their website functionality.

IPv6 addresses were created to avoid IPv4 exhaustion because the original system lacked enough combinations for all the devices accessing the internet. Neither address is incorrect, and both IP addresses are assigned to whichever site you are querying.