What is a dedicated IP address? Shared IP address?

A dedicated IP address is a unique identifier that is set aside for one domain name. In the past every website was given a unique IP address (ex. 97.74.215.116) but since there are a limited number of unique IPs that exist, hosting companies began sharing IPs with multiple websites. Now, dedicated IP addresses are typically used for sites that utilize an SSL certificate and need to accept credit card payments, larger sites with high traffic volume, or for people that don’t want to share an IP for other reasons.