The path from a typed domain to a loaded page runs through an IP address.
THE SEQUENCE
- A visitor types your domain.
- Their resolver asks which nameservers are authoritative for it.
- Those nameservers return the A record: an IP address.
- The browser connects to that address.
- The web server there works out which of the sites it hosts the request is for, and returns your pages.
THE PART PEOPLE MISS
Step 5. A single server IP hosts many websites. The server distinguishes them by the hostname the browser sends with the request, not by the IP address.
This is why visiting a shared IP directly in a browser does not show your site: without a hostname the server does not know which site you want, and typically returns the server's default page or an error.
WHY THIS MATTERS
It explains why a dedicated IP is not required to host a site, and why sharing one with other customers has no effect on how your site is served.
