What has been said in this thread is in keeping with what we've figured out through the past decade - some people prefer the catalog, and some people prefer the website. I'll go one further and add that some people just prefer to talk to somebody on the phone. This is why we have different 'helps' out there, and it is also why they look so different. I write the majority of the catalog, so you can blame me for anything you don't like in there. 
The website is a collaboration of many people, including our wonderful web designer whose wife uses HOD herself and is a much appreciated part of this board. The design of the packages is very intentional and something that we wanted to do so people could customize HOD for their dc's or for their family's specific needs. We realize it would be easier just to hand a box with the same exact stuff in it to each child of a specific age, but having multiple dc of our own - we know that children of a specific age are often needing very different things - especially in the areas of LA and math, which is why you see those items as choices. We also wanted the Economy Package to help people do a large part of the guide without expending so much money. We wanted it to be affordable, so we gave package savings on each package, rather than on one entire box/set for a certain age, so you could save every time you ordered a package rather than just if you ordered every single part of a guide. We also offered substitutions, allowing anything from any guide to be substituted, so you could get exactly what you needed without having duplicate copies of resources you may already own. Anyway, a TON of thinking has gone into what you see in the catalog and on the website! We realize it is not perfect, but we do like how it has turned out, and it won't be changing any time soon as we are expending every single bit of energy we have on finishing out the high school guides and their catalog/website counterparts, while also homeschooling our own kiddos. This is a very short explanation for a very long labor of love that in no way does justice to all of the in-depth conversations (sometimes until the wee hours of the morning) that Mike and Carrie and I have had in regard to way things are at Heart of Dakota. Someday, maybe not so far in the future, we hope to have more time for all of the many ideas we are excited about in regard to updates, but for now - we are pressing onward toward the goal of finishing strong, and doing whatever we can to equip Carrie to keep moving forward. In Christ,
Julie