The term font is often used synonymously with the word typeface. There is, however, a big difference. The typeface is only one part of the font because the font is made up of the entire design for a set of characters including letters and numerals. A font includes the typeface plus other qualities, such as size, pitch, and spacing.

A typeface defines only the shape of the characters. Some common typefaces are Times Roman, Arial, and Courier. If you look closely, you will see that the letters in each of these are shaped differently, some narrower, some more rounded, etc.

Within the Times Roman family, there are many fonts to choose from, including different sizes, italic, and bold. If you are working in a word processing program, the font might be Times New Roman, 10 point, bold. Changing the font can completely change the look and feel of a Web page or document.