Upscaling a small photo to clear a marketplace minimum, which passes the check but still looks soft next to competitors' listings.
Resolution and scaling
Resolution
Also called image resolution, image size in pixels or dimensions. Here is what it means, when it changes what you export, and what people get wrong.
Resolution and scalingRuns on your deviceUpdated 10 August 2026
The short answer
Resolution is how many pixels an image contains, written as width by height, such as 2048 x 2048. More pixels mean more room for detail, but only if the detail was captured in the first place. The same word also gets used for print density and for screen size, which are different things.
Updated
The short version
Resolution at a glance
| Quick fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Written as | Width x height in pixels |
| Safe all-round product size | 2048 x 2048 px square |
| eBay recommendation | About 1600 x 1600 px |
| Etsy recommendation | At least 2000 px on both sides |
| Amazon zoom threshold | 1000 px on the longest side |
| Not the same as | PPI, which describes print size |
Slide the table sideways to see every column.
Which of the three meanings do you actually need?
People use one word for three separate ideas, and most confusion starts here.
- Pixel dimensions. The count of pixels across and down, such as 3000 x 2000. This is what marketplaces check and what you control when exporting.
- Print resolution. Pixels per inch, which describes how densely those pixels are laid on paper. It changes physical size, not pixel count.
- Perceived or optical resolution. How much real detail is visible. A soft, badly lit 4000 px photo resolves less than a sharp 2000 px one, even though its dimensions are larger.
When someone says an image is low resolution, ask which of the three they mean before changing anything.
What do the major marketplaces ask for?
| Platform | Minimum | Recommended | Other limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay | 500 x 500 px | About 1600 x 1600 px | Up to 12 MB per file, up to 24 pictures per listing |
| Shopify | Zoom needs over 800 x 800 px | 2048 x 2048 px square | Up to 5000 x 5000 px, 25 MP, file under 20 MB |
| Etsy | First photo at least 635 px wide | At least 2000 px on both sides | Files over 1 MB may fail to upload |
| Meta and Instagram Shop catalog | 500 x 500 px | 1024 x 1024 px, square 1:1 | JPEG or PNG, up to 8 MB |
| Walmart Marketplace | Not published as a hard floor | 2000 x 2000 px at 300 ppi | Up to 1 MB per file, pure white main background |
Amazon's product image requirements state that the main image needs at least 1000 px on its longest side for zoom to activate, on a pure white background, with the product filling 85 to 100 percent of the frame and no text, logos or borders.
Why does adding resolution stop helping?
Past a point the limit is no longer the pixel grid. Camera shake, missed focus, a cheap lens, heavy JPEG compression or a source that was already upscaled all cap how much detail exists to record. Display also caps it: a product grid may render your image into a 400 px tile, so the difference between 2048 px and 4096 px is invisible until the shopper opens the zoom view. Extra pixels are worth carrying for cropping and zoom, not because bigger numbers read better.
How should you choose an export size?
Keep one master at the native resolution the camera produced, edit that, and export downwards for each destination. A 2048 x 2048 px square clears Etsy's 2000 px guidance, sits at Shopify's best display size, comfortably beats eBay's 1600 px recommendation and Meta's 1024 px, and passes Amazon's 1000 px zoom threshold. Then check the file size ceilings separately, since Etsy and Walmart both get strict around 1 MB. Batch resizing, in Photomop or anywhere else, is worth setting up once if you list the same product across several channels.
The one thing not to do is enlarge a small file to reach a minimum. It satisfies the validator and still looks soft on the page.
What people get wrong about resolution
Each one is a real failure mode, not a style preference.
Exporting everything at 5000 px because bigger feels safer, then hitting Etsy's or Walmart's file size limits.
Answering a request for pixel dimensions with a ppi figure, which tells the other side nothing about how large the image is.
Questions people ask
Resolution, answered
The follow-up questions people search for once they have the definition.
What resolution should product photos be?
2048 x 2048 px square is a sound single export for most sellers. It meets Etsy's 2000 px guidance, matches Shopify's best square display size, exceeds eBay's recommended 1600 px and Meta's 1024 px, and clears Amazon's 1000 px zoom threshold. Check each platform's file size limit separately.
Is 72 dpi bad for web images?
No, because the tag is ignored on screen. A browser lays an image out using its pixel dimensions. A 2000 x 2000 px file tagged 72 ppi and the identical file tagged 300 ppi render exactly the same and take up exactly the same bytes.
Does higher resolution always mean a bigger file?
Usually, but not proportionally. File size tracks pixel count and how compressible the content is. A 12 MP photo of a plain white backdrop can be smaller than a 4 MP photo of a patterned rug, because compression works on detail, not dimensions.
Can I get resolution back from a small image?
Not truly. Enlarging estimates new pixels from the ones present, and learned upscalers invent plausible texture. Both raise the pixel count without restoring what was never recorded. Finding the original file, or reshooting, is the only real recovery.
Same cluster
More from the glossary
Neighbouring entries, so every term in the set is one hop from every other.
RGB
RGB is the additive colour model screens use, mixing red, green and blue light to produce every colour you see.
RAW image file
A RAW image file is the unprocessed data a camera sensor recorded, saved before the camera turned it into a finished picture.
Saturation
Saturation is how pure or intense a colour is, from grey at zero to fully vivid at maximum.
From the studio
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Each one runs on your own device, so the photo stays where it is.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from. Every link opens the specification, standard or documentation the claim was read at.
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