Entering IP addresses in browsers

[#1]

How do I enter an IP address in my browser for an external website (e.g 212.58.246.90 for the bbc) and get the actual  website?

When I try entering a valid IP address I get a SORRY! message from cPanel.

I can ping the website without problem.

I get this problem with any brower: Chrome, IE, Edge, firefox and on Windows 10 and XP. I am using a Hub One router on plusnet and my DNS primary address is 212.59.6.10

[#2]

Very frequently multiple websites are hosted on the same server (try entering 212.159.9.91 on https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/web-sites-on-web-server/). The web server therefore needs the website name to know which to display.

[#3]

I have tried it where there is only one website hosted. Could I ask if you can you enter a website IP address in your browser and get the website?

[#4]

I assume you're entering the IP address in the format http://208.69.38.170/ (this one will give you the OpenDN status page)? The IP address you quote (212.58.246.90) gives me a '404 Not found' error, but sent from the BBC website. I haven't been able to find an IP for www.bbc.co.uk which resolves successfully; it might be to do with restrictions on accessing BBC content from outside the UK.

[#5]

That website works. Are there any others that work as most of the ones I have tried don't?

[#6]

I suspect that it might be something that has been introduced to stop the hosts file being hijacked. As I can map web addresses to ip addresses in my hosts file. However the dns server cPanel throws up an error message suggesting that IP address gas changed or a similar problem. Can anyone confirm if this is true?

[#7]

Nothing to do with it. When the browser requests a page it will still present the URL to the server - your entries in the hosts file will just force the request to be sent to a particular server.