diff --git a/src/app/pages/category/subcategories.component.ts b/src/app/pages/category/subcategories.component.ts
index 742483e..948d2a8 100644
--- a/src/app/pages/category/subcategories.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/pages/category/subcategories.component.ts
@@ -63,10 +63,10 @@ export class SubcategoriesComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
 
         // Check for nested subcategories from API response (backOffice format)
         const nested = parent?.subcategories || [];
-        const visibleNested = nested.filter(s => s.visible !== false);
+        const visibleNested = nested.filter(s => this.isDisplayableNestedSubcategory(s));
 
         // Also check flat legacy subcategories
-        const flatSubs = cats.filter(c => c.parentID === parentID);
+        const flatSubs = cats.filter(c => c.parentID === parentID && this.isDisplayableFlatSubcategory(c));
 
         if (visibleNested.length > 0) {
           // Use nested subcategories from API
@@ -110,6 +110,20 @@ export class SubcategoriesComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
     });
   }
 
+  private isDisplayableFlatSubcategory(category: Category): boolean {
+    return category.visible !== false
+      && ((category.itemCount ?? 0) > 0 || (category.subcategories?.length ?? 0) > 0);
+  }
+
+  private isDisplayableNestedSubcategory(subcategory: Subcategory): boolean {
+    return subcategory.visible !== false
+      && (
+        (subcategory.itemCount ?? 0) > 0
+        || subcategory.hasItems === true
+        || (subcategory.subcategories?.length ?? 0) > 0
+      );
+  }
+
   hasSubcategories(): boolean {
     return this.subcategories().length > 0 || this.nestedSubcategories().length > 0;
   }
diff --git a/src/app/pages/home/home.component.ts b/src/app/pages/home/home.component.ts
index 779ed93..f1a1e0d 100644
--- a/src/app/pages/home/home.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/pages/home/home.component.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ export class HomeComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
   topLevelCategories = computed(() => {
     return this.categories()
       .filter(cat => cat.parentID === 0)
+      .filter(cat => this.isDisplayableTopLevelCategory(cat))
       .sort((a, b) => (a.priority ?? Infinity) - (b.priority ?? Infinity));
   });
 
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ export class HomeComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
   private subcategoriesCache = computed(() => {
     const cache = new Map<number, Category[]>();
     this.categories().forEach(cat => {
-      if (cat.parentID !== 0) {
+      if (cat.parentID !== 0 && this.isDisplayableFlatSubcategory(cat)) {
         if (!cache.has(cat.parentID)) {
           cache.set(cat.parentID, []);
         }
@@ -90,6 +91,21 @@ export class HomeComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
     return this.subcategoriesCache().get(parentID) || [];
   }
 
+  private isDisplayableFlatSubcategory(category: Category): boolean {
+    return category.visible !== false
+      && ((category.itemCount ?? 0) > 0 || (category.subcategories?.length ?? 0) > 0);
+  }
+
+  private isDisplayableTopLevelCategory(category: Category): boolean {
+    return category.visible !== false
+      && (
+        (category.itemCount ?? 0) > 0
+        || (category.categoriesCount ?? 0) > 0
+        || (category.subcategories?.length ?? 0) > 0
+        || this.getSubCategories(category.categoryID).length > 0
+      );
+  }
+
   isWideCategory(categoryID: number): boolean {
     return this.wideCategories().has(categoryID);
   }
diff --git a/src/app/services/api.service.ts b/src/app/services/api.service.ts
index d852ca2..9d3f8ba 100644
--- a/src/app/services/api.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/services/api.service.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
 import { HttpClient, HttpHeaders, HttpParams } from '@angular/common/http';
 import { Observable, timer } from 'rxjs';
 import { map, retry } from 'rxjs/operators';
-import { Category, DeliveryOption, Item } from '../models';
+import { Category, DeliveryOption, Item, Subcategory } from '../models';
 import { normalizeDeliveryOption, normalizeOptionalNumber } from '../utils/normalization.utils';
 import { environment } from '../../environments/environment';
 
@@ -125,6 +125,45 @@ export class ApiService {
     return { options: [], isDigital: false, requiresSelection: false };
   }
 
+  private normalizeSubcategory(raw: any): Subcategory {
+    const subcategory: Subcategory = {
+      id: String(raw.id ?? raw.categoryId ?? raw.categoryID ?? ''),
+      name: typeof raw.name === 'string' ? raw.name : '',
+      visible: raw.visible ?? true,
+      priority: raw.priority ?? 0,
+      img: raw.img ? this.resolveImageUrl(raw.img) : undefined,
+      categoryId: String(raw.categoryId ?? raw.categoryID ?? raw.id ?? ''),
+      parentId: String(raw.parentId ?? raw.parentID ?? ''),
+      itemCount: raw.itemCount ?? raw.ItemsCount ?? 0,
+      hasItems: raw.hasItems,
+      subcategories: Array.isArray(raw.subcategories)
+        ? raw.subcategories
+            .map((sub: any) => this.normalizeSubcategory(sub))
+            .filter((sub: Subcategory) => this.isDisplayableSubcategory(sub))
+        : [],
+    };
+
+    return subcategory;
+  }
+
+  private isDisplayableSubcategory(subcategory: Subcategory): boolean {
+    if (subcategory.visible === false) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    return (subcategory.itemCount ?? 0) > 0
+      || subcategory.hasItems === true
+      || (subcategory.subcategories?.length ?? 0) > 0;
+  }
+
+  private isDisplayableCategory(category: Category): boolean {
+    return category.visible !== false;
+  }
+
+  private isDisplayableItem(item: Item): boolean {
+    return item.visible !== false;
+  }
+
   /** Resolve relative image URLs (e.g. ./images/x.webp) against site origin */
   private resolveImageUrl(url: string): string {
     if (!url) return '';
@@ -301,7 +340,9 @@ export class ApiService {
     if (!items || !Array.isArray(items)) {
       return [];
     }
-    return items.map(item => this.normalizeItem(item));
+    return items
+      .map(item => this.normalizeItem(item))
+      .filter(item => this.isDisplayableItem(item));
   }
 
   /**
@@ -359,7 +400,9 @@ export class ApiService {
     cat.name = cat.name || '';
 
     if (raw.subcategories && Array.isArray(raw.subcategories)) {
-      cat.subcategories = raw.subcategories;
+      cat.subcategories = raw.subcategories
+        .map((sub: any) => this.normalizeSubcategory(sub))
+        .filter((sub: Subcategory) => this.isDisplayableSubcategory(sub));
     }
 
     return cat;
@@ -367,7 +410,9 @@ export class ApiService {
 
   private normalizeCategories(cats: any[] | null | undefined): Category[] {
     if (!cats || !Array.isArray(cats)) return [];
-    return cats.map(c => this.normalizeCategory(c));
+    return cats
+      .map(c => this.normalizeCategory(c))
+      .filter(category => this.isDisplayableCategory(category));
   }
 
   // ─── Core Marketplace Endpoints ───────────────────────────