diff --git a/site/controllers/index.php b/site/controllers/index.php
index 04cf66c..e0efd7b 100644
--- a/site/controllers/index.php
+++ b/site/controllers/index.php
@@ -22,8 +22,10 @@ return function($page) {
             return explode(',', $field);
         }, $categoriesRawFields); // return ’[["A", "B", "C",], ["A", "B"]]
         $flattenedCategories = array_flatten($splittedCategoriesFields);
-        $filters = array_unique($flattenedCategories);    
-        
+        $trimmed = array_map('trim', $flattenedCategories);
+        $filtered = array_filter($trimmed, fn($v) => $v !== '');
+        $filters = array_unique($filtered);
+
         return $filters;
     }