Introduction
The social service I have chosen for the analysis is child protection. I have compared the two sites; one of them is in the USA, and the other is in the UK. The first site is well-developed and has a great structure. It cooperates with the different states and includes a multitude of programs and information. The second site is much smaller yet very developed; it is designed for Scotland and also is very educational.
The USA and UK sites analysis
First of all, it is important to define who is the target public of the website (Meyer, 15). As far as I was working with the children protection sites, the main audience probably consists of children and young people looking for help. Thus, one of the key features which have to be present in this sort of site is the direct link of the helping center (Hogan, 24). It has to be formulated and well-seen. The USA site offers the “Get Help” button as one of the first on the site’s homepage.
The UK site also contains a link to the page, which is designed to help youth; however, its name is less clear – “Children/Young People.” Both sites present information about how to use the telephone, computer, and Internet safely, the plan for actions in case of troubles, emergency numbers, etc. Except for the youth, the sites are also designed for adults, such as donators or volunteers. Therefore, there is also a lot of information for these people.
Interestingly, similar approaches (display through the Internet) are presented in different ways on the two sites. Specifically, the USA site offers the traditional links which lead to the page with some articles or messages. In contrast, the UK site presents information in the form of PDF files. It can be rather inconvenient, as far as 1) these files need to be downloaded before reading, and 2) the Acrobat Reader has to be installed to view the information.
Another detail I have noticed is that the UK website uses a more complicated language in comparison to that used on the USA site. For instance, the “Inspection of Services” on the first one is much simpler on the second (“Give Help,” “Get Help,” “Get Involved”). Moreover, the USA site has one of the most important buttons called “Hotline,” while the UK site gives only the “Location/Contact” option. Thus, the ideas on the UK website are expressed in a rather unclear way.
Besides, while the UK site contains mostly information about community groups and professionals, the USA site focuses on real problems, such as domestics, child abuse, etc. It also contains many more media files, such as animations, films, images, etc., which makes it more interesting and complex.
However, the UK website has one obvious advantage to the USA site, which is the expression of short ideas instead of continuous texts. This way of data organization is more convenient for the users and is also easier to understand.
Conclusion
All in all, the USA website is much greater than that of the UK, as it has a lot of sponsors and is very popular. Because of this, the USA site offers many more services and opportunities for all visitors. However, the UK website is also very helpful, as it has a spectrum of options for both the youth and adults. Still, there need some improvements to be made in the design and content of the UK site.
Works Cited
Hogan, M. Four Skills of Cultural Diversity Competence, 3rd edition. Thomson Brooks: 2007.
Meyer, J, Kanwischer, R.. Human Services: Concepts and Intervention Strategies 10th edition. Allyn&Bacon, 2008.