Point of View

Point of view, or POV for short, is the way in which the story is told.
There are three types of POV, two of which have different subtypes.
I will list the most common POVs first.

Third Person

This is where the story is told by a narrator.

Examples include The Lord of the Rings, Fahrenheit 451, and Harry Potter.

The two subtypes are omniscient and limited.

Omniscient is where the narrator knows everything that is going on in the story and knows what everyone is thinking.
Limited is where the narrator tells the events of the story and perhaps the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist or perhaps only one character per chapter.

First Person

First person is told by a character who lived or is living in the story. They express their own thoughts and feelings.

Examples include Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Great Gatsby, and Sherlock Holmes.

There are a two types of this POV I will address:

First Person Protagonist is where the protagonist is telling their story.

First Person Secondary Character is where the narrator is living the story but they keep the focus on the protagonist.

Second Person

This is the POV commonly used in "choose your own adventure" stories. It's rare in other works of fiction. It is where you are the protagonist and you are told what is "happening" to you.

Multiple POVs? Multiple POV characters?

It is possible to use different types of POVs in one work, and/or have multiple POV characters.

Multiple POV types and Multiple POV characters: Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth.

Multiple POV characters: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

I heavily advise discretion and care when doing this, because it requires balance.
I have read both professionally published books and Wattpad books that did not do this, resulting in confusion.

How is this confusion avoided?

•Try to avoid using first person POV when you have multiple view point characters. All the "I" statements make it difficult to tell which "I" is being read.

•For the love of God, don't introduce the POV characters too quickly. In the beginning of the story, stick to one for a few chapters at least, then introduce the next POV character. After you've established them well enough, then you can switch them as much as you like throughout the story.

It's like going to a party with your extroverted friend and they want to introduce you to all of their other friends. If they kept dragging you along without letting you stick to conversing with one person long enough at a time, you aren't going to get to know anyone well enough to remember who they are.

•Don't switch POV types or characters within a scene. Please. It just confuses the reader in ways they shouldn't have to be. I've made this mistake before with the characters and I've seen other writers do the same with both things. Don't do it.