It worked! I am not sure if it was:
putting the address in like this, as I was simply typing in "esp8266.local" before, but when I typed it in just as it is above it loads and works fine.
Or, it could be that my original sketch that I tried above didn't have this:
Either way it seems to be working fine now! To my other question (could be completely unrelated and I need to start a new thread for), but how do I change how the board is labeled in the port drop down menu? So, I don't have to keep up with the ip of each esp board that I use: I am talking about where the mouse is hovering in the picture below:
Thanks!