When you sign up with a web host, you will normally be given either one of two types of IP address. Shared IP addresses and static IP addresses are the two different types of IP address provided. Shared web hosting involves your site being given a portion of space on the web host‘s server. All websites on the server will have the same shared IP address. Sites such as blogs or sites purely offering information will find a shared IP address more than adequate.

But ecommerce websites that are taking payments etc will need to have a static IP address. Likewise if you have a website that is holding confidential information, you would also need a static IP address. It is essential for sites such as these to use static IP addresses if they are going to use SSL encryption. SSL encryption is required in order to make sure that any confidential data travelling to and from your site is encrypted. This will prevent this data from falling into the wrong hands. SSL encryption cannot be used with shared IP addresses.

It is also necessary for you to have a static IP address in order to facilitate ftp transfers. If your site has an option for visitors to download files it is necessary that the site has a static IP address. These are the main reasons that most people use static IP addresses.

However security is not such a major issue for those sites that do not accept payments from customers etc. Websites which have been developed purely to get people to click on ads would not require a static IP address. Another reason you can forget about static IP addresses is if your site does not facilitate ftp transfers.

Whenever you make your decision to enter the big, bad world of internet marketing, you should really have web hosting sorted out. Newbie’s can find, though, that the web hosting world can be rather confusing. For example, you may come across reseller web hosting or even linux web hosting while searching different options.