I can't use my IP in my web browser?

I'm trying to start a server in minecraft so me and a few friends can play together. I made the server and I can play on it, but when someone else tries my IP, they can't connect. I think I need to port forward to solve this. But when I type in my IP into my web browser, my web browser does not respond. I've tried using just the IP itself, the http:// then IP and I still get nothing. What am I doing wrong?