Harpd Answers · Explained
What is a category board on Harpd Rank?
A category board is the leaderboard for one product category, with its own Overall, Monthly and Weekly views. Products enter free after approval; Rank Points set positions for RP holders, while 0-RP products follow in approval order. Visits feed Trending, not Rank position.
Quick answer
What is a category board on Harpd Rank?
A category board is the ranked leaderboard for a single product category on Harpd Rank — for example the Developer or Agents board. Each board has three views: Overall (all-time Rank Points), Monthly and Weekly. A product appears on the board of the category it was approved into.
- Products tracked
- 1,197 on Harpd Rank
- Categories
- 27 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
A product is approved into one category → it enters that category board at 0 Rank Points → Rank Points bought with Credits raise its position → the Overall, Monthly and Weekly views each apply their own time window. Category boards also drive the programmatic pages: /rank/category/{slug}/, its monthly and weekly variants, and the comparison and alternatives pages built from the same category.
How it compares
Harpd vs the traditional approach
| Aspect | Harpd / this model | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One category, three time windows | One flat list |
| Entry | Free after moderation | Editorial selection or paid slot |
| Machine access | Every board has a JSON dataset | HTML only |
| Change history | Monthly and weekly closed archives | Overwritten each publish |
Why it matters
Categories are what make a leaderboard useful: "the best product" is meaningless, but "the leading developer tool this month" is a decision someone can act on. Boards also give every product a fair, narrow field to compete in rather than one global list.
Frequently asked questions
Can a product be on more than one category board?
A product is approved into one primary category, so it competes on that board. This keeps category shares meaningful — a product counted twice would distort every share figure.
What is the difference between Overall, Monthly and Weekly?
The three views apply different time windows to Rank Points. Overall reflects all-time points; Monthly and Weekly count points earned in their UTC periods and are archived when each period closes. Products with 0 RP are shown in approval order.
Why do some category boards look empty?
Harpd operates a fixed taxonomy, so a board exists before it has qualifying products. Empty boards still accept listings and are excluded from the sitemap and the published category share until they hold products.