SUNY Canton Unveils New and Improved Website

The college’s new presence integrates video and larger photos while increasing overall user-based functionality.

SUNY Canton has launched a new website in line with its ongoing strategic marketing and communications goals for the 2025-2026 academic year.

“One of the biggest challenges of launching a new website is maintaining brand cohesiveness,” said Director of Public Relations Travis Smith, who also serves as the college’s web designer. “While it’s tempting to build something completely new from the ground up, we prefer to iterate and build incrementally, making thoughtful updates that stay true to our existing branding. This method results in a design that is fresh yet familiar.”

Users who launch the website will immediately see a video on the homepage. In past renditions, this spot has been reserved for photographs that display in a carousel format. When the video reaches its end, users can view four additional hero images, which are designed to correspond with events and activities on campus. The entire display area dedicated to video and photos has increased in size by approximately 60%.

“Our website is designed around the user,” Smith said. “We’ve maintained our intuitive overall architecture so anyone can find any of our available resources with ease. The site is more accessible, and backend enhancements allow for better search engine optimization.”

One of the newest features is an integrated program finder that allows prospective students to search the college’s academic offerings by subject. A search for “Nursing” yields the college’s four different related majors, a Nursing Home Administration microcredential, and the Health Care Management program. Likewise, a search for “Engineering” brings up the hands-on programs offered by the Canino School of Engineering Technology. Users can also search for “Online” to view the college’s extensive degree programs offered in that format.

“The newest version of canton.edu is a culmination of more than a year’s worth of planning and work by Travis Smith,” said Vice President for Strategic Relations and Communications Lenore VanderZee. “We are incredibly fortunate to have talented staff who create and manage our website entirely in-house, which saves the college money and gives us our online presence a personal touch.”

The website is viewed 3 million times and generates 8.3 million engagements annually. Traffic originates from a variety of devices, with 53% using a mobile device, 43% from desktop computers, and 4% from tablets. SUNY Canton has undergone approximately five major redesigns in the past 20 years, and four of them were overseen by Smith. It was last overhauled in 2017.