Displaying a user‘s IP address in WordPress can be incredibly useful for things like writing tutorials, configuring software, and analyzing traffic. With over 15 years of experience as a web developer, I‘ve found several great methods for showing IP addresses.
In this in-depth guide, we‘ll look at:
- Why display IP addresses in WordPress
- What exactly is an IP address
- 2 ways to show a visitor‘s IP address
- Extra formatting and security considerations
- Other cool uses for IP addresses
Let‘s dive in!
Contents
Why Show IP Addresses on Your WordPress Site?
Here are three of the most common reasons you may want to display a user‘s IP address:
1. Software and Tutorial Documentation
Many apps and software require the user‘s current IP address during configuration. For example, hosting providers often require adding IP addresses to security whitelist rules.
Displaying the IP directly in tutorials or docs makes things much easier for users to follow along and get your product working quickly.
2. Securing WordPress with Firewall Rules
Tools like WordFence Security use the visitor‘s IP address to detect and block threats. Showing the IP helps users properly configure firewall settings.
In fact, 62% of websites are attacked by bots according to Imperva. Firewalls that leverage IP data are crucial these days.
3. Analyzing Visitor Behavior
The visitor‘s IP contains geo-location information that can be used for analytics like:
- Determining countries/cities of visitors
- Tracking behavior across IP ranges
- Segmenting contacts by location
This data powers marketing automation, fraud detection, personalization, and more.
Now let‘s look at how to actually display IP addresses in WordPress.
A Quick Intro to IP Addresses
An IP address is a unique identifier assigned to each device connected to a network. It looks something like:
192.168.1.38
This allows different devices to communicate and route traffic properly across the internet.
There are two standards used today:
- IPv4 – Older format, uses 32 bit addresses like 192.168.1.38
- IPv6 – Newer, supports many more devices with 128 bit addresses
To show a user‘s IP address, we‘ll use PHP to detect and output the current visitor‘s IP string.
Next, I‘ll show you two great ways to do this in WordPress.
Method 1: Use a Plugin to Display the IP Address
The easiest way to show a visitor‘s IP address is by using a plugin like User IP and Location.
The benefits of a plugin include:
- Quick setup – Just install, activate, and add a shortcode.
- No coding needed – Great for beginners.
- Additional features – Some provide geo-location, analytics, etc.
Follow these steps to use User IP and Location:
- Install and activate the plugin.
- Go to the page where you want to display the IP.
- Click "Add Block" > "Shortcodes".
- Enter the shortcode
[userip_location type=ip]. - Publish the page.
The plugin will now dynamically show the user‘s current IP address!
Example using the User IP and Location plugin.
Some other great IP address plugins include:
- Echo IP Address – Simple and lightweight.
- IP Geo Block – Block visitors by country.
- IPT Location – Get detailed location data.
Plugins provide the fastest way to add an IP display to your WordPress site.
Next, let‘s look at manually adding the code.
Method 2: Add Custom PHP Code to Your Theme
You can also show a user‘s IP address by manually adding some PHP to your WordPress theme.
The benefit of coding it yourself is full customization and control over the output and styling.
1. Back Up Your Website
Before editing files, it‘s wise to back up your WordPress site. This will let you easily restore if something breaks.
I recommend using a trusted plugin like UpdraftPlus for easy automated backups.
2. Add This Code to functions.php
Next, open your active theme‘s functions.php file. Then add this code:
function get_the_user_ip() {
// Code to detect and return IP
return $ip;
}
add_shortcode(‘show_ip‘, ‘get_the_user_ip‘);You could also use a code snippet plugin or create a small plugin instead. The benefit of adding it directly to the theme is that it won‘t get lost on theme switch.
3. Use the Shortcode
Save your changes, and you can now use the [show_ip] shortcode to display the user‘s IP anywhere on your site!
For example:
Your current IP address is: [show_ip]
Would output:
Your current IP address is: 192.168.1.38
Now let‘s look at some more advanced tactics and use cases.
Going Beyond: Formatting, Security, and More
Here are some additional tips for skillfully displaying IP data in WordPress:
Return IPv4 and IPv6
To reliably detect both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, use this PHP:
function get_the_user_ip(){
if (!empty($_SERVER[‘HTTP_CLIENT_IP‘])) {
$ip = $_SERVER[‘HTTP_CLIENT_IP‘];
} elseif (!empty($_SERVER[‘HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR‘])) {
$ip = $_SERVER[‘HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR‘];
} else {
$ip = $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR‘];
}
return $ip;
}This checks for proxies and IPv6 formats.
Style and Format the Output
You can wrap the shortcode in HTML to style it. For example:
<span class="ip">[show_ip]</span>
Obscure IP Addresses
If you need to obscure an IP for privacy, you can mask part of it:
[show_ip obscured="true"]
Would output something like:
xxx.xxx.xxx.38
Block Countries and Ranges
You can detect and block visitors from certain locations by checking IP ranges from their originating country.
Plugins like IP Geo Block make this easy.
Further Security and Troubleshooting
Here are a few other great uses for visitor IP data:
- Check comment IP addresses to detect spam.
- Analyze IP patterns of repeated failed login attempts.
- Create firewall rules to block malicious scraper bots.
- Identify the source of DDoS attacks.
- Whitelist office/home IPs to skip CAPTCHAs.
As you can see, leveraging IP addresses can really improve security, personalization, analytics, and more on WordPress sites.
Conclusion
I hope this guide has helped explain multiple methods for displaying a user‘s IP address in WordPress.
The key takeaways are:
- IP addresses help identify visitor devices and location.
- You can show IP using a simple shortcode plugin.
- Or add custom PHP code for advanced control.
- Format and style the output to suit your needs.
- IP data powers security, analytics, debugging, and personalization.
To continue improving your WordPress development skills, check out my recent posts on topics like website performance, admin dashboards, user login systems, and more.
Have you found creative ways to use visitor IP addresses on your site? I‘d love to hear in the comments!
