I get asked this question a lot.

In the world of web site design and development, clients and prospective clients frequently ask “is this possible?”. This question is almost always related to adding features and functionality to a web site.

Most of the time, or actually pretty much all of the time, the answer is yes! And most of the time I give that answer within seconds of hearing the question.

The question that should be asked is “What will it take to do this?”, rather than “Is this possible?”. Most developers will rarely say something isn’t possible.

The real question is “What will it take to get this specific feature on my web site?”. The answer to this question will usually be the amount of time it will take or the amount of resources it will take to implement the requested feature or idea.

So, next time you want to ask your web developer if something is possible, instead rephrase the question to be “What will it take to get that done?”. The answer to this question will be much more insightful than a yes or no.

Luke Petterson is the Interactive Director at Absolute Marketing Group and does all kinds of web related stuff. He also sits indoors a lot and needs a tan.