What type of message is sent to the IP address of a website?

The correct choice indicates that HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is the type of message sent to the IP address of a website. When a user wants to access a webpage, their browser utilizes HTTP to communicate with the web server hosting that website. This protocol governs how messages are formatted and transmitted, and it defines the actions the web server should take in response to various requests, such as loading a webpage or submitting a form.

Since HTTP is specifically designed for web traffic, it is the primary method through which data is exchanged on the World Wide Web. Whenever you type a URL into your browser, it sends an HTTP request to the server using the website’s IP address. The server then processes that request and sends back an HTTP response, which often includes the HTML content needed to render the page.

In contrast, other protocols like FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring files, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is focused on sending emails, and HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the standard language used to create content on the web, but it is not a communication protocol in itself. Therefore, the choice of HTTP is appropriate as it directly pertains to how messages are sent to and from the IP address of a website.