What is the difference between local address and localhost?

Question

Computer networks

Good afternoon!
I have my own server hosted from my computer. From the outside, you can connect via external ip, and in the local network via local, which is logical. But for many I saw that they write localhost from the host, and the page opens for them. At me it is possible to be connected only on local ip.
What is the difference between local ip address and localhost? Is there any way to redirect to localhost?

Answer 1

Your server is not listening to localhost, so the page is not opening.
Or configured "virtual host" - the site is bound to a domain name, not a port/address.
Forwarding can be done, but not necessary, because. it's not about that. All this is regulated by editing the config.
By the way, you did not write what you have as a server and OS, so there are only abstract arguments in the answers.