Web Team Overview

The Marketing and Communications web team is responsible for the official Buffalo State website, search, official templates, and Drupal template training.

Whether you’re building a new site, updating content, or looking for ways to improve your users’ experience, Buffalo State’s web team provides the guidance, tools, and resources you need to manage your site effectively and meet your audience’s needs.

Who We Are

Web Director: Melissa Meehan

Inclusive Web Developer: Dan Schmidt

Web Content Strategist: Mark Norris

Web Experience Designer: Sue Zilliox

What We Do

University Website

Support and oversee the university website, suny.buffalostate.edu, serving prospective and current students, families, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, visitors, and community partners.

Enterprise Web Design
Develop fast, mobile-first, and accessible websites.

Brand Standards
Regulate official logos, colors, typography, and web rules across official digital products.

Daily Bulletin
Maintain homegrown product that facilitates internal communications. Manage issue editing, publishing, archiving, and technical assistance.

Department and Office Sites

Offices 
Key institutional subsites supporting strategic priorities and initiatives, including all admissions and leadership pages.

Academic
Support schools, departments, programs, student services, and accreditation-needed program updates.

Campus Training
Train staff across various university departments and offices to safely update their own web pages.

Content and Accessibility

Drupal Content Management System (CMS)

  • Manage large-scale system to handle thousands of pages and multiple campus contributors.
  • Training and support for campus content creators and editors.

Accessibility

  • ADA accessibility and compliance standards applied to all digital projects.
  • Accessibility review and graphic support for high-level email communication.

Measuring and Maintaining

Site Measurements
Web analytics and reporting to measure traffic, engagement, conversions, and content performance.

Ongoing Maintenance
Handle technical updates, website hosting, security, and uptime monitoring.

Objectives

  • Engage priority audiences and increase qualified leads and enrollment.
  • Support the full student journey from recruitment through graduation.
  • Deliver accurate, timely academic and institutional information that helps users take action.
  • Strengthen Buffalo State’s brand, values, priorities, and reputation through a consistent digital experience.

Services

  • Plan, design, build, and continuously improve Buffalo State’s web presence. 
  • Optimize official websites for accessibility, performance, content quality, search visibility, and user experience. 
  • Support CMS implementation across the university through technical assistance, training, and ongoing guidance. 

Our Goals

  • Increase conversions by driving more users to complete key actions such as applying, requesting information, or visiting the university.

  • Achieve and maintain accessibility compliance across university websites and digital content.

  • Reduce bounce rates by improving content relevance, navigation, page speed, and user experience.

  • Increase engagement through higher time on page, more return visits, and greater completion of priority user journeys.

  • Use analytics to set benchmarks, track performance, and continuously improve results.

Web Policies

Consistent Messaging
Content on official Buffalo State web servers may be changed at any time by the Marketing and Communications Office to ensure accuracy of messaging, as well as strong, consistent, and professionally presented graphics and imagery.

Pages representing Buffalo State:

  • Must not violate state or federal law or any university policy, or feature obscene, harassing, or discriminatory content; or contain any other inappropriate information.
  • Must meet section WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards (effective spring 2027).

Website Takeovers and Shutdowns
The Marketing and Communications Office may take over or shut down any Buffalo State site for:

  • Consistent documented failure to update websites (removal of PWC admin access) 
  • Failure to update within one academic year (automatic shutdown)
  • Unprofessional presentation
  • Consistently low traffic
  • Does not meet the strategic goals of the institution

Apps Requirements

  • Be free of paid third-party advertising
  • Support institutional goals (enhancing the student experience, increasing enrollment, streamlining  current processes, improving overall communication, etc.)
  • Communicate with social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter where applicable
  • Be accessible and adhere to W3C mobile web guidelines
  • Must include:
    • Official Buffalo State web palette and crest mark
    • Clear authorship, contact, and support information
    • Direct connectivity back to the main Buffalo State website

Affiliated web pages are independently designed and developed web presences established for select Buffalo State programs and facilities. They may or may not be included within the institution's Content Management System (CMS). Regardless of where they are hosted, as official representations of Buffalo State, they must adhere to campus web page policies and accessibility standards.

Vendor-created site designs must be approved in advance by Marketing and Communications before it can be included within the campus installation of Drupal. Please consult with us early in your process.

Required Elements

Optional Elements

Upon request, affiliated pages may use Buffalo State’s branded web header (including main site navigation), footer, and social media icon pack, which would be included at the top and bottom of every page of the site.