Prescription Glasses
Understanding Your Prescription When Buying Glasses Online for the First Time
If you typically purchase your prescription glasses in-store after having an eye test, buying online might seem complicated, but the truth is that choosing and buying your prescription glasses online couldn’t be simpler! Here’s what you need to know.
Buying prescription glasses online has loads of benefits compared to shopping on the high street.
- Take your time: Selecting a frame you love or finding the perfect glasses shape for your face can take a bit of time, and when you’re shopping online, there’s no need to rush. You can shop by colour, brand, shape, or style and even use valuable resources like a virtual try on tool or frame size guides to help you narrow down your choices and see whether your choice of glasses suit your face.
- Convenience: Beneficial if you can’t get to the shops or have little time, buying prescription glasses online means you can order in a few simple clicks and get them delivered through your letterbox in just a few days.
- The luxury of choice: Shopping online gives you infinitely more options, allowing you to find frames you absolutely love and can see yourself wearing long-term.
- Save money: With a wide range of frames and lenses to choose from, including designer choices, you can save cash shopping online using discount codes and taking advantage of special deals and offers.
- Expert quality: Credible eyewear brands will offer guarantees of authenticity with products and offer exclusive bespoke lenses in partnership with trusted optometrists. This is how you can rest assured that your prescription will be filled to exact specifications.
How to read your glasses prescription
Glasses prescription layouts differ depending on which optometrist you go to, and they can sometimes be confusing, but you don’t need to know how to read your prescription in detail to order your glasses online.
There are just a few key pieces of information you need to know, and you can make use of helpful online tools to measure your pupil distance.
These are some of the scores and measurements you might need to enter when ordering online. It’s essential to be as accurate as possible when entering any scores and whether they are proceeded by a plus or a minus.
- OS and OD
OS refers to your left eye, and OD refers to your right eye.
- SPH
SPH, or sphere, is all about distance. This is the correction for either long or short-sightedness. The number will appear in increments of .25, and either have a plus or a minus sign in front of it. A plus sign indicates long-sightedness, and minus indicates short-sightedness.
- CYL and Axis
CYL is an abbreviation for cylinder, and refers to the presence of astigmatism. This is scored in increments of .25 with either a plus or a minus sign. The axis score ranges from 0 to 180 and indicates the angle of astigmatism. This score won’t appear on your script if you don’t have astigmatism.
- Reading ADD
Reading Addition indicates how much extra power is needed over and above the distance prescription. It won’t always appear on your prescription. The number is in increments of 0.25 and will always be preceded by a plus sign.
If there are any other abbreviations or scores on your prescription, such as a Prism reading, please contact our optician or contact your optometrist for some guidance.
Did you know you can also make your sunglasses prescription?
Most sunglasses can be glazed with your prescription, or you can have your prescription lenses built into a pair of sunglasses, giving them the corrective qualities you need. Prescription sunglasses mean you can protect your eyes from the sun and benefit from the ability to see clearly. Find out more about making your sunglasses prescription.
Buy prescription glasses online quickly and easily
Our simple ordering process means you can select your frame of choice, and we’ll guide you through all your options during checkout. You can add your choice of lenses, then either enter your prescription details or simply upload a copy of your prescription so we can do the rest!