Harpd Answers · Explained
How are Harpd product categories created?
Categories come from a fixed published taxonomy. A board exists before it holds products, and a new category is added when a genuine cluster of products does not fit any existing board.
Quick answer
How are Harpd product categories created?
Harpd product categories are the fixed taxonomy the boards, datasets and programmatic pages are all built from. The taxonomy is published at /categories/ and as data at /data/categories.json, with a stable slug per category.
- Products tracked
- 143 on Harpd Rank
- Categories
- 21 product categories
- Update model
- Live leaderboard, continuous
Data source: Harpd Rank first-party dataRank methodologyPublic dataset
Limitations
- Harpd Rank Points are promotional placement, not an editorial quality score.
- Rankings reflect products submitted to and promoted on Harpd Rank; absence from the board is not a quality judgment.
Data source: Harpd Rank first-party data
How it works
The mechanics, plainly
Products are classified into the taxonomy at moderation. A board exists from the moment it is defined, even with zero products — that is why some boards look empty. When a cluster of legitimate products fits no existing category, a new category is defined rather than forcing them into an approximate one, and the taxonomy version is updated.
How it compares
Harpd vs the traditional approach
| Aspect | Harpd / this model | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Fixed published taxonomy with stable slugs | Free-form tags |
| Empty boards | Exist and accept listings | Usually hidden |
| Machine access | Published as JSON with counts | Unavailable |
| Effect on figures | Shares computed over the same taxonomy | Ad-hoc groupings |
Why it matters
Category shares are only meaningful if the categories are stable and published. A taxonomy that shifts silently would make every historical comparison — and every quoted share — wrong retroactively.
Frequently asked questions
How many categories does Harpd publish?
See /data/categories.json for the current count of boards and of boards that currently hold products. The two numbers differ deliberately and are never published as one.
Can I request a new category?
Yes, via /contact/. Harpd adds a category when a real cluster of products does not fit an existing board, not on request for a single product.
What happens to a product in the wrong category?
Moderation can move it. Because a product appears on exactly one board, moving it changes that product's board but keeps its stable entity id and its history.