The problems with most nonprofit Web sites today are too much text and not enough great visuals, said Ann-Laura Parks at last week’s AFP TechKnow conference in Orlando, Fla., hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Charities can go a long way to make their Web site more reader-friendly so potential donors can scan a page and quickly pick up whatever information they need.

For example, instead of using a lot words, Web sites should contain strong visual cues to guide donors. “You can use design to move a reader’s eye,” she says. “Good design means never having to say, ‘Click here.’ ”

As a graphic designer and artist—and director of development and communications at  South Arts, a nonprofit arts group in Atlanta—Ms. Parks constantly monitors how her organization’s Web site comes across to visitors and often looks at other charity sites….

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