What Is Screen Resolution?

Many people talk about screen resolution without really knowing what the IT term actually means. And most business owners, both of large and small organizations also probably don’t know what it means and how it is important for businesses, especially when they’re running a website.

What Is Meant By Screen Resolution?

The image on a computer screen is not one picture, it’s made up of thousands or millions of pixels. A pixel is a dot, often a square, that can represent any color, depending on the image the screen is trying to show. An image is made up of hundreds or thousands of these pixels by them changing colors.

Your screen resolution is the number of pixels your screen displays horizontally and vertically. For instance, if you have a screen resolution of 640 by 320, then you have 640 pixels horizontally and 320 pixels vertically. Many screens on a computer have multiple screen resolutions that they can use.

The higher the number of pixels in the screen resolution, the smaller the pixels are on a screen. This also relates to the quality of the image. Screens that have the highest resolutions will have better quality. This is because the smallest change can be better represented with smaller pixels, which is what you get when you have a higher resolution.

The Complicated Issues With Screen Resolution

Of course it isn’t as simple as the higher screen resolution the better the better the quality of the image all the time. This can only be certain when you’re comparing two screens of the same size. And this is where many business leaders and consumers go wrong.

In recent years, TVs and computer monitors have been getting cheaper. This has resulted in many people buying the biggest screen they can afford. However, it isn’t the size of the screen that matters, but rather the screen resolution in comparison to the screen size that matters.

For instance, two screens that are 15” and 17” respectively but have the same resolution of 1366 x 786 would result in the same quality of image. The image would only appear bigger on the 17” screen. This is because the pixels are 13% bigger on the larger screen.

At the same the larger monitor wouldn’t be able to offer more information on the screen. The same picture would still appear.

If you wanted to have a better or bigger image, you would need to improve the screen resolution not the monitor size.

What Does Higher Resolution Mean?

When comparing two screens of the same dimensions, but one with a higher resolution (more pixels), you will be able to see more on the one with the higher resolution. This can result in more detail on pictures, especially if you’re playing games on your computer or showing product pictures in High Definition.

At the same, higher resolutions often allow for more content to be shown on the screen, which can result in less need for you to scroll down on the page.

One of the potential disadvantages of a higher screen resolution is that icons for programs and apps tend to be smaller. If you’re using a touch screen, have sight issues or just prefer to have large icons, this can be a problem.

Screen Resolution Resolution Is Improving All the Time

Screen resolution has changed significantly over the past few years. High definition is now defined as 1366 x 768. However, you can also have full high definition (1920 x 1080), wide ultra extended graphics array (1920 x 1200) and ultra high definition monitors, also known as 4K (3840 x 2160).

These have made it hard to know what you need when buying a screen. However, it isn’t just the screen resolution that’s important. You also need to think about the brightness and color.

Why Does Screen Resolution Matter For Website Development?

When running a business and building a website you want to have the best equipment. When it comes to the monitor of your computer, that means that you need to have a screen that can handle the best screen resolution. This will allow you to build a website with the best graphics which you can see.

If you bought a screen with poor resolution, then you wouldn’t be able to see the finer details of your website. This could mean that you could miss out on mistakes that could make your site look less professional. This is particularly true when you have lots of images on your site.

At the same time, it will be hard to determine where your ‘fold’ is on a page.

​​​​​​​What is a ‘Fold’ on a Website?

A ‘fold’ is the point where a visitor is required to to scroll down to see the rest of the page. Statistically, content that’s below the fold is viewed less than content above the fold. A study by Google found that above the fold content was viewed 84% more than below the fold content. The research also found that it isn’t the call-to-actions that are important above the fold, but better content.

If your content is valuable enough, then you will find that people will scroll down the page, read more and then click on the call-to-action and convert.

​​​​​​​How to Measure your Screen Resolution

Many people don’t know how to measure their own screen resolution. Luckily there is a useful Screen Resolution Checker Tool that has been developed by Gochyu. This tool will tell you the exact screen resolution being used on your phone, tablet, laptop or desktop.

Unlike with other online tools that just tell you the actual screen resolution, the Gochyu tool will tell you the available screen resolution on your device.

​​​​​​​How to Change your Screen Resolution

Different systems have unique ways to change the screen resolution. Here is a quick guide for Window systems.

Ensure that you’ve got the best screen resolution setting on your computer. To change your screen resolution on windows, click on the Start button, then click on the Control Panel (or Settings), then Appearance and Personalization (or Display).

Then you should see a drop-down list next to the resolution option or a slider. If it’s a drop-down option, find the right resolution. If there is a slider, you can use the slider to find the right resolution. The computer will ask you to confirm whether you’re happy with the screen resolution. You will have to accept and apply the changes.

​​​​​​​Final Word: What Is Screen Resolution?

Screen resolution is very important for your business. It will be important when developing your website to see the way that your visitors will view your website. A good screen resolution will also help you fine-tune your website’s design, making it more visually appealing to your website’s visitors. As research has found that a bad looking website can lead to higher bounce rates, this is an important factor for you to consider.

You can check your screen resolution using our free Screen Resolution Checker tool.