diff --git a/app/assets/styles/composition/_sidebar.scss b/app/assets/styles/composition/_sidebar.scss
index d9d037bc..d409d7bc 100644
--- a/app/assets/styles/composition/_sidebar.scss
+++ b/app/assets/styles/composition/_sidebar.scss
@@ -34,4 +34,23 @@
     .current-link {
         color: var(--color-brand-primary);
     }
+
+    // Recursive nav (categories + pages). Each row carries its own
+    // depth class so we indent visually without manual nested <ul>s.
+    // Depth 0 = the root category heading; depth 1+ are children.
+    .nav-tree {
+        .nav-row {
+            margin-block: var(--spacing-3xs);
+        }
+        .nav-depth-1 { padding-inline-start: var(--spacing-md); }
+        .nav-depth-2 { padding-inline-start: calc(var(--spacing-md) * 2); }
+        .nav-depth-3 { padding-inline-start: calc(var(--spacing-md) * 3); }
+        .nav-depth-4 { padding-inline-start: calc(var(--spacing-md) * 4); }
+
+        // Sub-category headings (depth ≥ 1) get a slightly heavier
+        // weight to visually separate them from page links underneath.
+        .nav-category .category-link {
+            font-weight: 600;
+        }
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/pages/[...slug].vue b/app/pages/[...slug].vue
index 8a150e57..be9b015f 100644
--- a/app/pages/[...slug].vue
+++ b/app/pages/[...slug].vue
@@ -12,18 +12,45 @@
 
 interface ChildPage {
   slug: string
+  url: string
   title: string
   excerpt: string | null
   featured_image: string | null
   menu_order: number
 }
 
+interface ChildCategory {
+  slug: string
+  url: string
+  title: string
+  excerpt: string | null
+  featured_image: string | null
+  menu_order: number
+}
+
+interface NavPageNode {
+  kind: 'page'
+  url: string
+  title: string
+  menu_order: number
+}
+interface NavCategoryNode {
+  kind: 'category'
+  url: string
+  title: string
+  menu_order: number
+  items: Array<NavPageNode | NavCategoryNode>
+}
+type NavNode = NavPageNode | NavCategoryNode
+
 type PageTheme = 'default' | 'green'
 
 interface PageResponse {
+  url: string
   slug: string
   category_id: string | null
   category_slug: string | null
+  category_url: string | null
   menu_order: number
   theme: PageTheme
   custom_css: string | null
@@ -37,8 +64,11 @@ interface PageResponse {
   og_image: string | null
   body_html: string
   body_is_empty: boolean
-  menu_parent: { slug: string; title: string } | null
+  is_category_landing: boolean
+  menu_parent: { slug: string; url: string; title: string } | null
   children: ChildPage[]
+  child_categories: ChildCategory[]
+  nav_tree: NavCategoryNode | null
 }
 
 import { h, render, getCurrentInstance } from 'vue'
@@ -82,8 +112,14 @@ if (!data.value && !error.value) {
 // <head>
 useHead(() => {
   if (!data.value) return {}
+  // A category index represents the category itself, so title it by the
+  // category name (menu_parent is the active category on a landing)
+  // rather than the resolved default page's title.
+  const mp = data.value.menu_parent
   return {
-    title: data.value.meta_title || data.value.title,
+    title: mp && data.value.child_categories.length > 0
+      ? mp.title
+      : (data.value.meta_title || data.value.title),
     meta: [
       ...(data.value.meta_description ? [{ name: 'description', content: data.value.meta_description }] : []),
       ...(data.value.og_image ? [{ property: 'og:image', content: data.value.og_image }] : [])
@@ -102,7 +138,7 @@ useHead(() => {
     // cascade regardless of where main.scss ends up in <head>.
     style: data.value.custom_css
       ? [{
-          key: `page-custom-css-${data.value.slug}`,
+          key: `page-custom-css-${data.value.url}`,
           tagPosition: 'bodyClose' as const,
           innerHTML: data.value.custom_css
         }]
@@ -110,19 +146,48 @@ useHead(() => {
   }
 })
 
-const hasSidebar = computed(() => (data.value?.children.length ?? 0) > 0)
-// A page renders its children as cards (instead of sidebar + body) when
-// it's the category's default landing AND its own body is empty. Useful
-// for pure index pages like /resources.
-const isCategoryDefault = computed(() =>
-  Boolean(data.value && data.value.category_slug && data.value.menu_order === 0)
-)
+// Flatten the recursive nav tree into a list of rows for the sidebar.
+// Each row has a `depth` for visual indent. The root category itself
+// renders as a bold heading; everything below indents one step further.
+interface NavRow {
+  depth: number
+  kind: 'page' | 'category'
+  url: string
+  title: string
+}
+
+function flattenNav(node: NavCategoryNode, depth: number, out: NavRow[]) {
+  out.push({ depth, kind: 'category', url: node.url, title: node.title })
+  for (const item of node.items) {
+    if (item.kind === 'page') {
+      out.push({ depth: depth + 1, kind: 'page', url: item.url, title: item.title })
+    } else {
+      flattenNav(item, depth + 1, out)
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+const navRows = computed<NavRow[]>(() => {
+  const tree = data.value?.nav_tree
+  if (!tree) return []
+  const out: NavRow[] = []
+  flattenNav(tree, 0, out)
+  return out
+})
+
+const hasSidebar = computed(() => navRows.value.length > 0 || (data.value?.children.length ?? 0) > 0)
+// A category that has subcategories renders as an index: a card grid of
+// its subcategories followed by its own pages (set server-side only on
+// the bare category URL). Categories with just pages fall through to the
+// "open the first page" logic below.
+const showCategoryGrid = computed(() => (data.value?.child_categories.length ?? 0) > 0)
 const showChildGrid = computed(() =>
   Boolean(
     data.value
-      && isCategoryDefault.value
+      && data.value.is_category_landing
       && data.value.body_is_empty
       && data.value.children.length > 0
+      && !showCategoryGrid.value
   )
 )
 
@@ -226,18 +291,46 @@ onBeforeUnmount(unmountSlots)
   <div v-if="data" class="container page-content">
     <div :class="hasSidebar ? 'with-sidebar' : ''">
       <aside v-if="hasSidebar" class="sidebar">
-        <nav class="stack" aria-label="Child pages navigation">
+        <nav class="stack" aria-label="Section navigation">
           <div>
-            <ul class="stack | max-width-xs" role="list">
+            <!-- Recursive nav (categories + pages). Falls back to the
+                 flat siblings list when no tree is available (e.g.
+                 uncategorized pages). -->
+            <ul v-if="navRows.length" class="stack | max-width-xs nav-tree" role="list">
+              <li
+                v-for="row in navRows"
+                :key="`${row.kind}-${row.url}`"
+                :class="['nav-row', `nav-depth-${row.depth}`, `nav-${row.kind}`]"
+              >
+                <span v-if="row.kind === 'category' && row.depth === 0" class="font-size-lg category-heading">
+                  {{ row.title }}
+                </span>
+                <NuxtLink
+                  v-else-if="row.kind === 'category'"
+                  :class="['category-link', { 'current-link': data.url === row.url }]"
+                  :to="localePath(`/${row.url}`)"
+                >
+                  {{ row.title }}
+                </NuxtLink>
+                <NuxtLink
+                  v-else
+                  :class="{ 'current-link': data.url === row.url }"
+                  :to="localePath(`/${row.url}`)"
+                >
+                  {{ row.title }}
+                </NuxtLink>
+              </li>
+            </ul>
+            <ul v-else class="stack | max-width-xs" role="list">
               <li v-if="data.menu_parent">
                 <span class="font-size-lg category-heading">
                   {{ data.menu_parent.title }}
                 </span>
               </li>
-              <li v-for="child in data.children" :key="child.slug">
+              <li v-for="child in data.children" :key="child.url">
                 <NuxtLink
-                  :class="{ 'current-link': data.slug === child.slug }"
-                  :to="localePath(`/${child.slug}`)"
+                  :class="{ 'current-link': data.url === child.url }"
+                  :to="localePath(`/${child.url}`)"
                 >
                   {{ child.title }}
                 </NuxtLink>
@@ -247,7 +340,7 @@ onBeforeUnmount(unmountSlots)
         </nav>
       </aside>
 
-      <article :id="`page-${data.slug}`" class="page">
+      <article :id="`page-${data.slug || data.category_slug}`" class="page">
         <!-- WP page.php emits `page-featured-image` only when a
              post_thumbnail is explicitly set. Matches live behavior. -->
         <div v-if="data.featured_image" class="page-featured-image">
@@ -258,19 +351,66 @@ onBeforeUnmount(unmountSlots)
              the top so visitors landing on a sub-page (e.g. /resources/
              overview) get a clear heading. The document <title> is also
              set via useHead() above. -->
-        <h1 v-if="data.menu_parent" class="page-title">{{ data.title }}</h1>
-        <div v-if="!showChildGrid" class="page-body" v-html="data.body_html" />
+        <h1 v-if="showCategoryGrid && data.menu_parent" class="page-title">{{ data.menu_parent.title }}</h1>
+        <h1 v-else-if="data.menu_parent && data.title" class="page-title">{{ data.title }}</h1>
+        <div v-if="!showChildGrid && !showCategoryGrid" class="page-body" v-html="data.body_html" />
 
-        <div v-if="showChildGrid" class="grid">
-          <div v-for="child in data.children" :key="child.slug" class="card" data-variant="secondary">
+        <div v-if="showCategoryGrid" class="grid">
+          <!-- Subcategories first … -->
+          <div
+            v-for="cat in data.child_categories"
+            :key="cat.url"
+            class="card"
+            data-variant="secondary"
+          >
+            <div v-if="cat.featured_image" class="child-thumbnail">
+              <NuxtLink :to="localePath(`/${cat.url}`)">
+                <img :src="cat.featured_image" :alt="cat.title">
+              </NuxtLink>
+            </div>
+            <div class="stack">
+              <h3>
+                <NuxtLink class="color-white" :to="localePath(`/${cat.url}`)">
+                  {{ cat.title }}
+                </NuxtLink>
+              </h3>
+              <div v-if="cat.excerpt" class="child-excerpt" v-html="cat.excerpt" />
+            </div>
+          </div>
+
+          <!-- … then this category's own pages. -->
+          <div
+            v-for="child in data.children"
+            :key="child.url"
+            class="card"
+            data-variant="secondary"
+          >
             <div v-if="child.featured_image" class="child-thumbnail">
-              <NuxtLink :to="localePath(`/${child.slug}`)">
+              <NuxtLink :to="localePath(`/${child.url}`)">
                 <img :src="child.featured_image" :alt="child.title">
               </NuxtLink>
             </div>
             <div class="stack">
               <h3>
-                <NuxtLink class="color-white" :to="localePath(`/${child.slug}`)">
+                <NuxtLink class="color-white" :to="localePath(`/${child.url}`)">
+                  {{ child.title }}
+                </NuxtLink>
+              </h3>
+              <div v-if="child.excerpt" class="child-excerpt" v-html="child.excerpt" />
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <div v-else-if="showChildGrid" class="grid">
+          <div v-for="child in data.children" :key="child.url" class="card" data-variant="secondary">
+            <div v-if="child.featured_image" class="child-thumbnail">
+              <NuxtLink :to="localePath(`/${child.url}`)">
+                <img :src="child.featured_image" :alt="child.title">
+              </NuxtLink>
+            </div>
+            <div class="stack">
+              <h3>
+                <NuxtLink class="color-white" :to="localePath(`/${child.url}`)">
                   {{ child.title }}
                 </NuxtLink>
               </h3>
diff --git a/app/pages/admin/pages/[id].vue b/app/pages/admin/pages/[id].vue
index a2746dad..34046688 100644
--- a/app/pages/admin/pages/[id].vue
+++ b/app/pages/admin/pages/[id].vue
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ interface Page {
 interface CategoryRow {
   id: string
   slug: string
+  url: string
+  parent_path: string | null
+  parent_label: string | null
+  parent_id: string | null
   menu_order: number
   translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
   page_count: number
@@ -51,6 +55,8 @@ interface Translation {
 interface PageDetail {
   page: Page
   translations: Translation[]
+  url: string
+  category_path: string | null
 }
 
 const route = useRoute()
@@ -59,16 +65,16 @@ const toast = useToast()
 
 const pageId = computed(() => String(route.params.id))
 
-// Live public URL for the "View page" link in the Publish card. Uses the
-// committed slug (data) not the in-flight slug ref, so the link always
-// points to an existing route even if the author is editing the slug.
-// English is the default locale, so `prefix_except_default` means no prefix.
+// Live public URL for the "View page" link in the Publish card. Uses
+// the server-computed full URL (data.url) so it stays correct as the
+// page moves between categories. English is the default locale, so
+// `prefix_except_default` means no prefix.
 const publicUrl = computed(() => {
-  const committedSlug = data.value?.page.slug
-  if (!committedSlug) return null
+  const committedUrl = data.value?.url
+  if (!committedUrl) return null
   return activeLocale.value === 'en'
-    ? `/${committedSlug}`
-    : `/${activeLocale.value}/${committedSlug}`
+    ? `/${committedUrl}`
+    : `/${activeLocale.value}/${committedUrl}`
 })
 
 const EMPTY_DOC = { type: 'doc', content: [{ type: 'paragraph' }] }
@@ -82,13 +88,15 @@ const { data: categoriesData } = await useFetch<{ rows: CategoryRow[] }>(
 const categories = computed(() => categoriesData.value?.rows ?? [])
 
 function categoryLabel(cat: CategoryRow): string {
-  const en = cat.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name
-  return en ?? cat.slug
+  const en = cat.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name ?? cat.slug
+  return cat.parent_label ? `${cat.parent_label} / ${en}` : en
 }
 
 const categoryItems = computed(() => [
   { label: '— Uncategorized —', value: null as string | null },
-  ...categories.value.map(c => ({ label: categoryLabel(c), value: c.id as string | null }))
+  ...[...categories.value]
+    .sort((a, b) => a.url.localeCompare(b.url))
+    .map(c => ({ label: categoryLabel(c), value: c.id as string | null }))
 ])
 
 // Metadata editable in the top bar
@@ -115,6 +123,16 @@ const selectedCategory = computed(() =>
 
 const isCategoryChanged = computed(() => categoryId.value !== originalCategoryId.value)
 
+// Live preview of the full URL — re-derived from the (in-flight) leaf
+// slug + selected category so the editor sees the new URL before they
+// save. Used in the Slug field's helper text.
+const previewFullUrl = computed(() => {
+  const leaf = slug.value.trim().replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
+  if (!leaf) return ''
+  const prefix = selectedCategory.value?.url
+  return prefix ? `${prefix}/${leaf}` : leaf
+})
+
 const THEME_OPTIONS: Array<{ label: string; value: PageTheme }> = [
   { label: 'Default', value: 'default' },
   { label: 'Green background', value: 'green' }
@@ -646,7 +664,7 @@ function formatVersionTime(iso: string): string {
             <div class="space-y-4">
               <UFormField
                 label="Category"
-                :description="isCategoryChanged ? 'Changing the category rewrites the slug prefix — the old URL will 404.' : 'Group this page under a category.'"
+                :description="isCategoryChanged ? 'Moving to a different category will change this page’s URL — the old URL will 404.' : 'Group this page under a category.'"
               >
                 <USelect
                   v-model="categoryId"
@@ -657,9 +675,13 @@ function formatVersionTime(iso: string): string {
               </UFormField>
               <UFormField
                 label="Slug"
-                :description="selectedCategory ? `Full URL: /${slug}. Must start with ${selectedCategory.slug}/` : 'URL path (e.g. privacy)'"
+                :description="previewFullUrl ? `Full URL: /${previewFullUrl}` : 'Leaf segment only — lowercase letters, digits, dashes.'"
               >
-                <UInput v-model="slug" />
+                <div v-if="selectedCategory" class="flex items-center gap-1 min-w-0">
+                  <span class="shrink-0 text-(--ui-text-muted) font-mono text-sm truncate">{{ selectedCategory.url }}/</span>
+                  <UInput v-model="slug" class="flex-1 min-w-0" />
+                </div>
+                <UInput v-else v-model="slug" class="w-full" />
               </UFormField>
               <UFormField label="Page theme" description="Applied to <body>.">
                 <USelect v-model="theme" :items="THEME_OPTIONS" class="w-full" />
diff --git a/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/[id].vue b/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/[id].vue
index d36d997b..961c425a 100644
--- a/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/[id].vue
+++ b/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/[id].vue
@@ -17,22 +17,45 @@ definePageMeta({
 interface CategoryPage {
   id: string
   slug: string
+  url: string
   menu_order: number
   title_en: string | null
   published_count: number
   translation_count: number
 }
 
+interface ChildCategory {
+  id: string
+  slug: string
+  url: string
+  menu_order: number
+}
+
 interface CategoryDetail {
   category: {
     id: string
     slug: string
+    parent_id: string | null
     menu_order: number
     created: string
     updated: string
   }
+  url: string
+  parent_path: string | null
+  parent_label: string | null
   translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string; updated: string }>
   pages: CategoryPage[]
+  child_categories: ChildCategory[]
+}
+
+interface CategoryRow {
+  id: string
+  slug: string
+  url: string
+  parent_id: string | null
+  parent_path: string | null
+  parent_label: string | null
+  translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
 }
 
 const route = useRoute()
@@ -46,6 +69,8 @@ const { data, pending, refresh } = await useFetch<CategoryDetail>(
 
 const slug = ref('')
 const originalSlug = ref('')
+const parentId = ref<string | null>(null)
+const originalParentId = ref<string | null>(null)
 const names = reactive<Record<string, string>>({})
 for (const l of ENABLED_LANGUAGES) names[l.code] = ''
 
@@ -59,6 +84,8 @@ watch(data, (value) => {
   if (!value) return
   slug.value = value.category.slug
   originalSlug.value = value.category.slug
+  parentId.value = value.category.parent_id
+  originalParentId.value = value.category.parent_id
   for (const l of ENABLED_LANGUAGES) {
     const t = value.translations.find(x => x.locale === l.code)
     names[l.code] = t?.name ?? ''
@@ -71,7 +98,51 @@ const activeLocale = ref<string>('en')
 const saving = ref(false)
 const savingOrder = ref(false)
 
+const { data: allCategoriesData } = await useFetch<{ rows: CategoryRow[] }>(
+  '/api/admin/categories',
+  { default: () => ({ rows: [] }) }
+)
+
+function categoryLabel(cat: CategoryRow): string {
+  const en = cat.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name ?? cat.slug
+  return cat.parent_label ? `${cat.parent_label} / ${en}` : en
+}
+
+// Block self/descendants from the parent picker so the user can't
+// accidentally request a cycle (the server would reject anyway, but
+// not surfacing the option avoids a confusing failure).
+const descendantIds = computed(() => {
+  const all = allCategoriesData.value?.rows ?? []
+  const childrenByParent = new Map<string | null, CategoryRow[]>()
+  for (const c of all) {
+    const key = c.parent_id ?? null
+    const list = childrenByParent.get(key) ?? []
+    list.push(c)
+    childrenByParent.set(key, list)
+  }
+  const out = new Set<string>([categoryId.value])
+  const stack = [categoryId.value]
+  while (stack.length) {
+    const id = stack.pop()!
+    for (const c of childrenByParent.get(id) ?? []) {
+      out.add(c.id)
+      stack.push(c.id)
+    }
+  }
+  return out
+})
+
+const parentItems = computed(() => [
+  { label: '— Top level —', value: null as string | null },
+  ...[...(allCategoriesData.value?.rows ?? [])]
+    .filter(c => !descendantIds.value.has(c.id))
+    .sort((a, b) => a.url.localeCompare(b.url))
+    .map(c => ({ label: categoryLabel(c), value: c.id as string | null }))
+])
+
 const slugWillRename = computed(() => slug.value.trim() !== originalSlug.value)
+const parentWillChange = computed(() => parentId.value !== originalParentId.value)
+const willChangeUrls = computed(() => slugWillRename.value || parentWillChange.value)
 
 async function saveDetails() {
   const slugValue = slug.value.trim().replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
@@ -92,7 +163,7 @@ async function saveDetails() {
     }))
     await $fetch(`/api/admin/categories/${categoryId.value}`, {
       method: 'PATCH',
-      body: { slug: slugValue, translations }
+      body: { slug: slugValue, parent_id: parentId.value, translations }
     })
     toast.add({ title: 'Category saved', color: 'success' })
     await refresh()
@@ -169,8 +240,10 @@ async function deleteCategory() {
         variant="outline"
         color="error"
         icon="i-lucide-trash-2"
-        :disabled="(data?.pages.length ?? 0) > 0"
-        :title="(data?.pages.length ?? 0) > 0 ? 'Move or delete member pages first' : 'Delete category'"
+        :disabled="(data?.pages.length ?? 0) > 0 || (data?.child_categories.length ?? 0) > 0"
+        :title="(data?.pages.length ?? 0) > 0
+          ? 'Move or delete member pages first'
+          : ((data?.child_categories.length ?? 0) > 0 ? 'Move or delete child categories first' : 'Delete category')"
         @click="deleteModalOpen = true"
       >
         Delete
@@ -188,9 +261,20 @@ async function deleteCategory() {
         </template>
 
         <div class="space-y-4">
+          <UFormField
+            label="Parent category"
+            :description="parentWillChange ? 'Moving this category to a different parent will change every URL beneath it. Old URLs will 404.' : 'Leave as Top level for a root category.'"
+          >
+            <USelect
+              v-model="parentId"
+              :items="parentItems"
+              value-key="value"
+              class="w-full"
+            />
+          </UFormField>
           <UFormField
             label="Slug"
-            :description="slugWillRename ? 'Changing the slug will rewrite every member page URL. Old URLs will 404.' : 'URL prefix for member pages.'"
+            :description="willChangeUrls ? 'Saving will rewrite every URL beneath this category. Old URLs will 404.' : `Current URL: /${data.url}`"
           >
             <UInput v-model="slug" />
           </UFormField>
@@ -230,6 +314,32 @@ async function deleteCategory() {
         </div>
       </UCard>
 
+      <UCard v-if="data.child_categories?.length">
+        <template #header>
+          <span class="text-sm font-semibold">Child categories ({{ data.child_categories.length }})</span>
+        </template>
+        <ul class="divide-y divide-(--ui-border)">
+          <li
+            v-for="child in data.child_categories"
+            :key="child.id"
+            class="flex items-center gap-3 py-2 px-2"
+          >
+            <div class="flex-1 min-w-0">
+              <div class="text-sm truncate">{{ child.slug }}</div>
+              <div class="text-xs text-(--ui-text-muted) font-mono truncate">/{{ child.url }}</div>
+            </div>
+            <UButton
+              size="xs"
+              variant="outline"
+              icon="i-lucide-pencil"
+              :to="`/admin/pages/categories/${child.id}`"
+            >
+              Edit
+            </UButton>
+          </li>
+        </ul>
+      </UCard>
+
       <UCard>
         <template #header>
           <div class="flex items-center justify-between">
@@ -272,10 +382,10 @@ async function deleteCategory() {
                 <div class="text-sm truncate">
                   {{ page.title_en || 'Untitled' }}
                   <UBadge v-if="idx === 0" size="xs" variant="subtle" color="info" class="ml-2">
-                    Default for /{{ data.category.slug }}
+                    Default for /{{ data.url }}
                   </UBadge>
                 </div>
-                <div class="text-xs text-(--ui-text-muted) font-mono truncate">{{ page.slug }}</div>
+                <div class="text-xs text-(--ui-text-muted) font-mono truncate">/{{ page.url }}</div>
               </div>
               <UBadge
                 size="xs"
diff --git a/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/index.vue b/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/index.vue
index 89340d6b..96c7d909 100644
--- a/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/index.vue
+++ b/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/index.vue
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ definePageMeta({
 interface CategoryRow {
   id: string
   slug: string
+  url: string
+  parent_id: string | null
+  parent_path: string | null
+  parent_label: string | null
   menu_order: number
   translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string; updated: string }>
   page_count: number
@@ -30,6 +34,35 @@ function englishName(row: CategoryRow): string {
   return row.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name ?? row.slug
 }
 
+// Group categories by parent so the table renders a tree (root rows
+// followed by their children, indented). Walks from each root and
+// emits descendants depth-first.
+const sortedRows = computed<Array<CategoryRow & { depth: number }>>(() => {
+  const all = data.value?.rows ?? []
+  if (all.length === 0) return []
+  const byParent = new Map<string | null, CategoryRow[]>()
+  for (const row of all) {
+    const key = row.parent_id ?? null
+    const list = byParent.get(key) ?? []
+    list.push(row)
+    byParent.set(key, list)
+  }
+  for (const list of byParent.values()) {
+    list.sort((a, b) =>
+      a.menu_order - b.menu_order || a.slug.localeCompare(b.slug)
+    )
+  }
+  const out: Array<CategoryRow & { depth: number }> = []
+  function walk(parentId: string | null, depth: number) {
+    for (const row of byParent.get(parentId) ?? []) {
+      out.push({ ...row, depth })
+      walk(row.id, depth + 1)
+    }
+  }
+  walk(null, 0)
+  return out
+})
+
 // Delete flow — blocked server-side if any pages still belong to the
 // category, so we surface the 409 message directly.
 const deleteModalOpen = ref(false)
@@ -93,7 +126,7 @@ async function confirmDelete() {
         <thead class="bg-(--ui-bg-elevated) text-(--ui-text-muted)">
           <tr>
             <th class="text-left px-3 py-2 font-medium">Name (EN)</th>
-            <th class="text-left px-3 py-2 font-medium">Slug</th>
+            <th class="text-left px-3 py-2 font-medium">URL</th>
             <th class="text-left px-3 py-2 font-medium">Translations</th>
             <th class="text-left px-3 py-2 font-medium">Pages</th>
             <th class="text-right px-3 py-2 font-medium">Actions</th>
@@ -101,13 +134,18 @@ async function confirmDelete() {
         </thead>
         <tbody>
           <tr
-            v-for="row in data.rows"
+            v-for="row in sortedRows"
             :key="row.id"
             class="border-t border-(--ui-border) hover:bg-(--ui-bg-elevated) cursor-pointer"
             @click="router.push(`/admin/pages/categories/${row.id}`)"
           >
-            <td class="px-3 py-2">{{ englishName(row) }}</td>
-            <td class="px-3 py-2 font-mono">{{ row.slug }}</td>
+            <td class="px-3 py-2">
+              <span :style="{ paddingLeft: `${row.depth * 1.25}rem` }">
+                <span v-if="row.depth > 0" class="text-(--ui-text-muted) mr-1">↳</span>
+                {{ englishName(row) }}
+              </span>
+            </td>
+            <td class="px-3 py-2 font-mono text-xs">/{{ row.url }}</td>
             <td class="px-3 py-2">
               <div class="flex flex-wrap gap-1">
                 <UBadge
diff --git a/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/new.vue b/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/new.vue
index cb6e7f16..068c296f 100644
--- a/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/new.vue
+++ b/app/pages/admin/pages/categories/new.vue
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
-// Admin: create a new category. Collect the slug and a per-locale name
-// for each enabled language. Server insists on a non-empty English
-// name; the other locales can be filled in here or later on the edit
-// screen.
+// Admin: create a new category. Collect the slug, an optional parent
+// category, and a per-locale name for each enabled language. Server
+// insists on a non-empty English name.
 
 import { ENABLED_LANGUAGES } from '~~/config/languages'
 
@@ -11,16 +10,53 @@ definePageMeta({
   middleware: ['auth', 'admin']
 })
 
+interface CategoryRow {
+  id: string
+  slug: string
+  url: string
+  parent_id: string | null
+  parent_path: string | null
+  parent_label: string | null
+  translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
+}
+
 const toast = useToast()
 const router = useRouter()
 
 const slug = ref('')
+const parentId = ref<string | null>(null)
 const names = reactive<Record<string, string>>({})
 for (const l of ENABLED_LANGUAGES) names[l.code] = ''
 
 const activeLocale = ref<string>('en')
 const creating = ref(false)
 
+const { data: categoriesData } = await useFetch<{ rows: CategoryRow[] }>(
+  '/api/admin/categories',
+  { default: () => ({ rows: [] }) }
+)
+
+const categories = computed(() => categoriesData.value?.rows ?? [])
+
+function categoryLabel(cat: CategoryRow): string {
+  const en = cat.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name ?? cat.slug
+  return cat.parent_label ? `${cat.parent_label} / ${en}` : en
+}
+
+const parentItems = computed(() => [
+  { label: '— Top level —', value: null as string | null },
+  ...[...categories.value]
+    .sort((a, b) => a.url.localeCompare(b.url))
+    .map(c => ({ label: categoryLabel(c), value: c.id as string | null }))
+])
+
+const previewUrl = computed(() => {
+  const leaf = slug.value.trim().replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
+  if (!leaf) return ''
+  const parent = parentId.value ? categories.value.find(c => c.id === parentId.value) : null
+  return parent ? `${parent.url}/${leaf}` : leaf
+})
+
 async function submit() {
   const slugValue = slug.value.trim().replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
   if (!slugValue) {
@@ -41,7 +77,7 @@ async function submit() {
 
     const category = await $fetch<{ id: string }>('/api/admin/categories', {
       method: 'POST',
-      body: { slug: slugValue, translations }
+      body: { slug: slugValue, parent_id: parentId.value, translations }
     })
     toast.add({ title: 'Category created', color: 'success' })
     router.push(`/admin/pages/categories/${category.id}`)
@@ -66,8 +102,21 @@ async function submit() {
 
     <UCard>
       <div class="space-y-4">
-        <UFormField label="Slug" required description="Lowercase letters, digits, and dashes. Used as the URL prefix for every page in this category (e.g. about).">
-          <UInput v-model="slug" placeholder="about" />
+        <UFormField label="Parent category" description="Leave as Top level for a root category like /resources.">
+          <USelect
+            v-model="parentId"
+            :items="parentItems"
+            value-key="value"
+            class="w-full"
+          />
+        </UFormField>
+
+        <UFormField
+          label="Slug"
+          required
+          :description="previewUrl ? `URL will be /${previewUrl}` : 'Lowercase letters, digits, and dashes (no slashes).'"
+        >
+          <UInput v-model="slug" placeholder="adoption" />
         </UFormField>
 
         <div>
@@ -94,7 +143,7 @@ async function submit() {
               :label="`${l.flag} ${l.nativeName}`"
               :required="l.code === 'en'"
             >
-              <UInput v-model="names[l.code]" :placeholder="l.code === 'en' ? 'About' : 'Leave blank to fill later'" />
+              <UInput v-model="names[l.code]" :placeholder="l.code === 'en' ? 'Adoption Resources' : 'Leave blank to fill later'" />
             </UFormField>
           </div>
         </div>
diff --git a/app/pages/admin/pages/index.vue b/app/pages/admin/pages/index.vue
index d5de1c66..94d461a8 100644
--- a/app/pages/admin/pages/index.vue
+++ b/app/pages/admin/pages/index.vue
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ definePageMeta({
 interface PageRow {
   id: string
   slug: string
+  url: string
   category_id: string | null
   category_slug: string | null
   category_name_en: string | null
@@ -24,6 +25,10 @@ interface PageRow {
 interface CategoryRow {
   id: string
   slug: string
+  url: string
+  parent_path: string | null
+  parent_label: string | null
+  parent_id: string | null
   menu_order: number
   translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
   page_count: number
@@ -45,8 +50,8 @@ const { data: categoriesData } = await useFetch<{ rows: CategoryRow[] }>(
 const categories = computed(() => categoriesData.value?.rows ?? [])
 
 function categoryLabel(cat: CategoryRow): string {
-  const en = cat.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name
-  return en ?? cat.slug
+  const en = cat.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name ?? cat.slug
+  return cat.parent_label ? `${cat.parent_label} / ${en}` : en
 }
 
 // Modal state for creating a new page
@@ -58,7 +63,7 @@ const creating = ref(false)
 const newCategoryPrefix = computed(() => {
   if (!newCategoryId.value) return ''
   const cat = categories.value.find(c => c.id === newCategoryId.value)
-  return cat ? `${cat.slug}/` : ''
+  return cat ? `${cat.url}/` : ''
 })
 
 const newFullSlug = computed(() => {
@@ -68,7 +73,9 @@ const newFullSlug = computed(() => {
 
 const categoryItems = computed(() => [
   { label: '— Uncategorized —', value: null as string | null },
-  ...categories.value.map(c => ({ label: categoryLabel(c), value: c.id as string | null }))
+  ...[...categories.value]
+    .sort((a, b) => a.url.localeCompare(b.url))
+    .map(c => ({ label: categoryLabel(c), value: c.id as string | null }))
 ])
 
 function resetCreateForm() {
@@ -79,8 +86,8 @@ function resetCreateForm() {
 async function createPage() {
   creating.value = true
   try {
-    const slug = newFullSlug.value
-    if (!slug) {
+    const leaf = newSlugLeaf.value.trim().replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
+    if (!leaf) {
       toast.add({ title: 'Slug is required', color: 'error' })
       creating.value = false
       return
@@ -88,7 +95,7 @@ async function createPage() {
     const page = await $fetch<{ id: string }>('/api/admin/pages', {
       method: 'POST',
       body: {
-        slug,
+        slug: leaf,
         category_id: newCategoryId.value
       }
     })
@@ -226,7 +233,7 @@ const filteredRows = computed<PageRow[]>(() => {
               <span v-if="row.title_en">{{ row.title_en }}</span>
               <em v-else class="text-(--ui-text-muted)">Untitled</em>
             </td>
-            <td class="px-3 py-2 font-mono">{{ row.slug }}</td>
+            <td class="px-3 py-2 font-mono text-xs">{{ row.url }}</td>
             <td class="px-3 py-2">
               <span v-if="row.category_slug">{{ row.category_name_en || row.category_slug }}</span>
               <em v-else class="text-(--ui-text-muted)">—</em>
@@ -264,12 +271,12 @@ const filteredRows = computed<PageRow[]>(() => {
               class="w-full"
             />
           </UFormField>
-          <UFormField label="Slug" required :description="newCategoryPrefix ? `Full URL will be /${newFullSlug}` : 'e.g. privacy, contact'">
-            <UInput v-model="newSlugLeaf" :placeholder="newCategoryId ? 'vision' : 'privacy'">
-              <template v-if="newCategoryPrefix" #leading>
-                <span class="text-(--ui-text-muted) font-mono text-sm">{{ newCategoryPrefix }}</span>
-              </template>
-            </UInput>
+          <UFormField label="Slug" required :description="newSlugLeaf ? `Full URL will be /${newFullSlug}` : 'Leaf segment only — lowercase letters, digits, dashes.'">
+            <div v-if="newCategoryPrefix" class="flex items-center gap-1 min-w-0">
+              <span class="shrink-0 text-(--ui-text-muted) font-mono text-sm truncate">{{ newCategoryPrefix }}</span>
+              <UInput v-model="newSlugLeaf" :placeholder="newCategoryId ? 'vision' : 'privacy'" class="flex-1 min-w-0" />
+            </div>
+            <UInput v-else v-model="newSlugLeaf" :placeholder="newCategoryId ? 'vision' : 'privacy'" class="w-full" />
           </UFormField>
         </div>
       </template>
diff --git a/migrations/014_nested_categories_leaf_slugs.ts b/migrations/014_nested_categories_leaf_slugs.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b496e539
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/014_nested_categories_leaf_slugs.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+import { Kysely, sql } from 'kysely'
+
+// Switches the CMS to nested categories with leaf-only slugs.
+//
+// Before: pages.slug stored the full URL path ("resources/overview");
+// categories were flat (no parent_id); the slug prefix and category_id
+// were independent fields that could drift apart.
+//
+// After: each category has an optional parent_id forming a tree;
+// pages.slug stores only the page's own segment ("overview"); the
+// public URL is derived at request time by walking the category chain
+// + appending the page slug. Renaming or moving anywhere in the tree
+// instantly updates every URL underneath.
+//
+// Uniqueness:
+//   - categories(parent_id, slug) unique — top-level slugs unique
+//     across NULL parents via a partial index.
+//   - pages(category_id, slug) unique — uncategorized slugs unique via
+//     a partial index. (Postgres treats NULLs as distinct in normal
+//     unique indexes.)
+
+export async function up(db: Kysely<any>): Promise<void> {
+  // ── 1. Add parent_id to categories ─────────────────────────────
+  await db.schema
+    .alterTable('categories')
+    .addColumn('parent_id', 'uuid', col =>
+      col.references('categories.id').onDelete('restrict')
+    )
+    .execute()
+
+  await db.schema
+    .createIndex('categories_parent_id_idx')
+    .ifNotExists()
+    .on('categories')
+    .column('parent_id')
+    .execute()
+
+  // ── 2. Drop the old global slug uniqueness on both tables BEFORE
+  //       rewriting page slugs — different categories will end up
+  //       with the same leaf (e.g. each one's "overview" page).
+  // Drop the constraint first; the implicit unique index goes with
+  // it. (Dropping the index directly fails because the constraint
+  // owns it.) Some Kysely-Postgres versions name the index instead;
+  // try both forms with IF EXISTS so we don't care which one exists.
+  await sql`ALTER TABLE categories DROP CONSTRAINT IF EXISTS categories_slug_key`.execute(db)
+  await db.schema.dropIndex('categories_slug_key').ifExists().execute()
+
+  await sql`ALTER TABLE pages DROP CONSTRAINT IF EXISTS pages_slug_key`.execute(db)
+  await db.schema.dropIndex('pages_slug_key').ifExists().execute()
+
+  // ── 3. Split page slugs to leaves. Every page whose slug starts
+  //       with "{category.slug}/" gets its slug rewritten to whatever
+  //       follows the prefix.
+  await sql`
+    UPDATE pages p
+    SET slug = substring(p.slug from length(c.slug) + 2)
+    FROM categories c
+    WHERE p.category_id = c.id
+      AND p.slug LIKE c.slug || '/%'
+  `.execute(db)
+
+  // ── 4. Re-add scoped uniqueness on both tables (partial indexes so
+  //       NULL parent / NULL category still enforce uniqueness across
+  //       the top-level set).
+  await sql`
+    CREATE UNIQUE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS categories_parent_slug_uidx
+    ON categories (parent_id, slug)
+    WHERE parent_id IS NOT NULL
+  `.execute(db)
+
+  await sql`
+    CREATE UNIQUE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS categories_root_slug_uidx
+    ON categories (slug)
+    WHERE parent_id IS NULL
+  `.execute(db)
+
+  await sql`
+    CREATE UNIQUE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS pages_category_slug_uidx
+    ON pages (category_id, slug)
+    WHERE category_id IS NOT NULL
+  `.execute(db)
+
+  await sql`
+    CREATE UNIQUE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS pages_root_slug_uidx
+    ON pages (slug)
+    WHERE category_id IS NULL
+  `.execute(db)
+}
+
+export async function down(db: Kysely<any>): Promise<void> {
+  // Re-prefix every page's slug with its category slug so the old
+  // global-slug-as-path model still resolves URLs.
+  await sql`
+    UPDATE pages p
+    SET slug = c.slug || '/' || p.slug
+    FROM categories c
+    WHERE p.category_id = c.id
+      AND position('/' in p.slug) = 0
+      AND p.slug <> c.slug
+  `.execute(db)
+
+  await sql`DROP INDEX IF EXISTS pages_category_slug_uidx`.execute(db)
+  await sql`DROP INDEX IF EXISTS pages_root_slug_uidx`.execute(db)
+  await sql`DROP INDEX IF EXISTS categories_parent_slug_uidx`.execute(db)
+  await sql`DROP INDEX IF EXISTS categories_root_slug_uidx`.execute(db)
+
+  await sql`ALTER TABLE pages ADD CONSTRAINT pages_slug_key UNIQUE (slug)`.execute(db)
+  await sql`ALTER TABLE categories ADD CONSTRAINT categories_slug_key UNIQUE (slug)`.execute(db)
+
+  await db.schema.dropIndex('categories_parent_id_idx').ifExists().execute()
+  await db.schema.alterTable('categories').dropColumn('parent_id').execute()
+}
diff --git a/server/api/admin/categories/[id].delete.ts b/server/api/admin/categories/[id].delete.ts
index 973ff20f..d144a4f6 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/categories/[id].delete.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/categories/[id].delete.ts
@@ -14,10 +14,14 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   try {
     const result = await deleteCmsCategory(id)
     if ('error' in result) {
+      const message = result.error === 'child_categories_present'
+        ? 'This category still has child categories. Move or delete them first.'
+        : 'This category still has pages. Move or delete them first.'
       throw createError({
         statusCode: 409,
-        statusMessage: 'This category still has pages. Move or delete them first.',
+        statusMessage: message,
         data: {
+          error: result.error,
           attached_page_count: result.attached_page_count,
           sample_slugs: result.sample_slugs
         }
diff --git a/server/api/admin/categories/[id].get.ts b/server/api/admin/categories/[id].get.ts
index 78bba08c..279c6769 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/categories/[id].get.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/categories/[id].get.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
-// Admin: fetch a single category with translations and its ordered
-// member pages (each annotated with the English title for the admin
-// reorder list).
+// Admin: fetch a single category with translations, its computed URL
+// path, parent/children, and its ordered member pages (each annotated
+// with the English title for the admin reorder list).
 
 import { defineEventHandler, getRouterParam, createError } from 'h3'
 import { requirePermission } from '../../../utils/rbac'
 import { db } from '../../../utils/database'
-import { getCategory, getCategoryPages } from '../../../database/categories'
+import { getCategoryPages } from '../../../database/categories'
+import { getCmsCategory } from '../../../services/cmsCategories'
+import { loadCategoryTree, categoryUrlPath, pageUrlPath } from '../../../database/categoryTree'
 import { sql } from 'kysely'
 
 export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
@@ -13,12 +15,20 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   const id = getRouterParam(event, 'id')
   if (!id) throw createError({ statusCode: 400, statusMessage: 'id is required' })
 
-  const record = await getCategory(id)
+  const record = await getCmsCategory(id)
   if (!record) throw createError({ statusCode: 404, statusMessage: 'Category not found' })
 
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const childCategories = (tree.childrenByParent.get(id) ?? []).map(c => ({
+    id: c.id,
+    slug: c.slug,
+    menu_order: c.menu_order,
+    url: categoryUrlPath(tree, c.id)
+  }))
+
   const pages = await getCategoryPages(id)
   if (pages.length === 0) {
-    return { ...record, pages: [] }
+    return { ...record, child_categories: childCategories, pages: [] }
   }
 
   const pageIds = pages.map(p => p.id)
@@ -45,9 +55,11 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
 
   return {
     ...record,
+    child_categories: childCategories,
     pages: pages.map(p => ({
       id: p.id,
       slug: p.slug,
+      url: pageUrlPath(tree, p),
       menu_order: p.menu_order,
       title_en: byId.get(p.id)?.title_en ?? null,
       published_count: byId.get(p.id)?.published_count ?? 0,
diff --git a/server/api/admin/categories/[id].patch.ts b/server/api/admin/categories/[id].patch.ts
index 4318a00d..714dad6f 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/categories/[id].patch.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/categories/[id].patch.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { ENABLED_LANGUAGE_CODES } from '../../../../config/languages'
 
 interface Body {
   slug?: string
+  parent_id?: string | null
   menu_order?: number
   translations?: Record<string, { name?: string }> | Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
 }
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
     const result = await updateCmsCategory({
       id,
       slug: body?.slug != null ? String(body.slug) : undefined,
+      parent_id: body?.parent_id === undefined ? undefined : (body.parent_id ? String(body.parent_id) : null),
       menu_order: body?.menu_order !== undefined ? (Number(body.menu_order) || 0) : undefined,
       translations
     })
@@ -56,7 +58,7 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
       userId: authUser.userId,
       userAgent: getHeader(event, 'user-agent') || undefined,
       metadata: {
-        changes: (['slug', 'menu_order', 'translations'] as const).filter(k => body?.[k] !== undefined),
+        changes: (['slug', 'parent_id', 'menu_order', 'translations'] as const).filter(k => body?.[k] !== undefined),
         slugsPurged: result.slugsToPurge.length,
         source: 'admin-ui'
       }
diff --git a/server/api/admin/categories/[id]/page-order.patch.ts b/server/api/admin/categories/[id]/page-order.patch.ts
index f9853f22..f70173b8 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/categories/[id]/page-order.patch.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/categories/[id]/page-order.patch.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 import { defineEventHandler, getRouterParam, readBody, createError } from 'h3'
 import { requirePermission } from '../../../../utils/rbac'
 import { reorderCategoryPages, getCategoryPages, purgeSlugs } from '../../../../database/categories'
+import { loadCategoryTree, pageUrlPath } from '../../../../database/categoryTree'
 import { logUpdate } from '../../../../utils/activity-logger'
 
 export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
@@ -37,7 +38,8 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   }
 
   const pages = await getCategoryPages(id)
-  await purgeSlugs(pages.map(p => p.slug))
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  await purgeSlugs(pages.map(p => pageUrlPath(tree, p)))
   logUpdate('categories', id, event, { event: 'reorder', pageCount: pageIds.length })
   return { ok: true, pageIds }
 })
diff --git a/server/api/admin/categories/index.get.ts b/server/api/admin/categories/index.get.ts
index c8d2f973..75a5b18f 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/categories/index.get.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/categories/index.get.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 // Admin: list every category with its per-locale names and the number
-// of pages currently attached. Powers the category dropdown on the
-// page editor and the categories admin list.
+// of pages currently attached, plus the computed URL path for each
+// (so the admin UI can render a tree with breadcrumbs/parent labels
+// without re-walking the chain client-side).
 
 import { defineEventHandler } from 'h3'
 import { requirePermission } from '../../../utils/rbac'
-import { listCategoriesWithTranslations } from '../../../database/categories'
+import { listCmsCategories } from '../../../services/cmsCategories'
 
 export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   await requirePermission(event, 'pages.view')
-  const rows = await listCategoriesWithTranslations()
+  const rows = await listCmsCategories()
   return { rows }
 })
diff --git a/server/api/admin/categories/index.post.ts b/server/api/admin/categories/index.post.ts
index 87098c35..e5a95a8e 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/categories/index.post.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/categories/index.post.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { logEvent } from '../../../utils/activity-logger'
 
 interface Body {
   slug?: string
+  parent_id?: string | null
   menu_order?: number
   translations?: Record<string, { name?: string }> | Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
 }
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   try {
     const category = await createCmsCategory({
       slug: body?.slug ?? '',
+      parent_id: body?.parent_id ? String(body.parent_id) : null,
       menu_order: Number.isFinite(body?.menu_order) ? Number(body.menu_order) : 0,
       translations
     })
@@ -51,7 +53,12 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
       recordId: category.id,
       userId: authUser.userId,
       userAgent: getHeader(event, 'user-agent') || undefined,
-      metadata: { slug: category.slug, translations: translations.length, source: 'admin-ui' }
+      metadata: {
+        slug: category.slug,
+        parent_id: category.parent_id,
+        translations: translations.length,
+        source: 'admin-ui'
+      }
     })
     return category
   } catch (e: any) {
diff --git a/server/api/admin/pages/[id].delete.ts b/server/api/admin/pages/[id].delete.ts
index f8053ad0..bcf7a180 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/pages/[id].delete.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/pages/[id].delete.ts
@@ -14,16 +14,16 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   if (!id) throw createError({ statusCode: 400, statusMessage: 'id is required' })
 
   try {
-    const { slug, categoryId } = await deleteCmsPage(id)
+    const { slug, url, categoryId } = await deleteCmsPage(id)
     logEvent({
       eventType: 'DELETE',
       tableName: 'pages',
       recordId: id,
       userId: authUser.userId,
       userAgent: getHeader(event, 'user-agent') || undefined,
-      metadata: { slug, source: 'admin-ui' }
+      metadata: { slug, url, source: 'admin-ui' }
     })
-    await applyPageInvalidations([slug], categoryId ? [categoryId] : [])
+    await applyPageInvalidations([url], categoryId ? [categoryId] : [])
     return { ok: true }
   } catch (e: any) {
     if (e?.statusCode) {
diff --git a/server/api/admin/pages/[id].get.ts b/server/api/admin/pages/[id].get.ts
index 71fe3b57..71eaf5bf 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/pages/[id].get.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/pages/[id].get.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-// Admin: fetch a single page with all its translations (any status).
+// Admin: fetch a single page with all its translations (any status),
+// plus the computed full public URL.
 
 import { defineEventHandler, getRouterParam, createError } from 'h3'
 import { requirePermission } from '../../../utils/rbac'
@@ -12,8 +13,10 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   const found = await getCmsPage({ id })
   if (!found) throw createError({ statusCode: 404, statusMessage: 'Page not found' })
 
-  // Match the legacy admin contract: `{page, translations}`. The
-  // service additionally returns `category_slug`, but the Vue admin
-  // doesn't read that field — drop it from the response.
-  return { page: found.page, translations: found.translations }
+  return {
+    page: found.page,
+    translations: found.translations,
+    url: found.url,
+    category_path: found.category_path
+  }
 })
diff --git a/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/publish.post.ts b/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/publish.post.ts
index 972b38da..b9739e43 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/publish.post.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/publish.post.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
         source: 'admin-ui'
       }
     })
-    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageSlug, result.categoryId, locale)
+    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageUrl, result.categoryId, locale)
     return { ok: true }
   } catch (e: any) {
     if (e?.statusCode) {
diff --git a/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/translations/[locale].put.ts b/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/translations/[locale].put.ts
index 86584bd6..0c0b674e 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/translations/[locale].put.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/pages/[id]/translations/[locale].put.ts
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
       metadata: { page_id: id, locale, status: result.translation.status, source: 'admin-ui' }
     })
 
-    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageSlug, result.categoryId, locale)
+    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageUrl, result.categoryId, locale)
     return {
       ...result.translation,
       sanitization_warnings: result.sanitizationWarnings
diff --git a/server/api/admin/pages/index.get.ts b/server/api/admin/pages/index.get.ts
index 3433ac6c..cfaa4d65 100644
--- a/server/api/admin/pages/index.get.ts
+++ b/server/api/admin/pages/index.get.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-// Admin: list all CMS pages with counts of published/draft translations
-// plus category slug + English name for the category column.
+// Admin: list all CMS pages with counts of published/draft translations,
+// the page's category (if any), and the computed full URL path.
 
 import { defineEventHandler } from 'h3'
 import { requirePermission } from '../../../utils/rbac'
 import { db } from '../../../utils/database'
 import { sql } from 'kysely'
+import { loadCategoryTree, pageUrlPath } from '../../../database/categoryTree'
 
 export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
   await requirePermission(event, 'pages.view')
@@ -43,5 +44,11 @@ export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
     .orderBy('pages.slug', 'asc')
     .execute()
 
-  return { rows }
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const decorated = rows.map(r => ({
+    ...r,
+    url: pageUrlPath(tree, { slug: r.slug, category_id: r.category_id })
+  }))
+
+  return { rows: decorated }
 })
diff --git a/server/api/pages/[...slug].get.ts b/server/api/pages/[...slug].get.ts
index 59bece85..45705e98 100644
--- a/server/api/pages/[...slug].get.ts
+++ b/server/api/pages/[...slug].get.ts
@@ -1,132 +1,329 @@
-// Public CMS page read endpoint. Mirrors the plan:
-// - picks the translation for the requested locale
-// - falls back to English if that locale isn't published
-// - 404s if neither are published
+// Public CMS page read endpoint. Resolves a "/"-separated URL path
+// against the category tree:
 //
-// Returns the translation (title, excerpt, featured_image, meta_*,
-// status) plus pre-rendered HTML body and the set of sibling pages
-// that live in the same category (used for the sidebar nav).
+//   /resources              → top-level category "resources"
+//   /resources/adoption     → child category "adoption" under "resources"
+//   /resources/overview     → page "overview" inside "resources"
+//   /privacy                → uncategorized page "privacy"
 //
-// When the slug matches a category's slug exactly (e.g. `/about`),
-// the endpoint transparently resolves to the category's first page
-// (lowest menu_order with a published translation).
+// Walks every URL segment against the categories table from the root
+// down. Whatever doesn't match a category is treated as a page leaf
+// inside the deepest matched category. Bare-category URLs render the
+// category's default page (lowest menu_order with a published
+// translation).
+//
+// The response includes a sidebar of sibling pages, sibling
+// categories below the active one (so /resources can render a card
+// grid of "Adoption / Training / Mobilization"), and the menu parent
+// for breadcrumbs.
 
-// defineCachedEventHandler + getCookie are Nitro globals (auto-imported);
-// no h3 import needed for them.
 import { getRouterParam, getQuery, createError } from 'h3'
-import { getPageBySlug } from '../../database/pages'
 import {
-  getCategoryBySlug,
+  findPageInCategory,
+  getLocalizedTranslation
+} from '../../database/pages'
+import {
   getCategoryDefaultPage,
   getCategoryName,
-  getCategoryPageTranslations
+  getCategoryPageTranslations,
+  categoryIdsWithPublishedPages
 } from '../../database/categories'
-import { db } from '../../utils/database'
 import { renderTiptap } from '../../utils/renderTiptap'
 import { ENABLED_LANGUAGE_CODES } from '../../../config/languages'
+import {
+  loadCategoryTree,
+  walkCategorySegments,
+  pageUrlPath,
+  categoryUrlPath,
+  descendantCategoryIds
+} from '../../database/categoryTree'
+import type { LocalizedPage } from '../../database/pages'
+import type { TreeCategory, CategoryTree } from '../../database/categoryTree'
 
 const ENABLED_LOCALES = new Set(ENABLED_LANGUAGE_CODES)
 
+interface ChildCategorySummary {
+  slug: string
+  url: string
+  title: string
+  excerpt: string | null
+  featured_image: string | null
+  menu_order: number
+}
+
+interface NavPageNode {
+  kind: 'page'
+  url: string
+  title: string
+  menu_order: number
+}
+
+interface NavCategoryNode {
+  kind: 'category'
+  url: string
+  title: string
+  menu_order: number
+  items: Array<NavPageNode | NavCategoryNode>
+}
+
+type NavNode = NavPageNode | NavCategoryNode
+
+// Builds the recursive sidebar tree rooted at `categoryId`. Each
+// category becomes a heading whose `items` are its direct pages plus
+// each child category's own subtree, ordered by menu_order then slug.
+// Returns null when the category has no pages anywhere in its subtree —
+// an empty heading isn't worth showing in the menu.
+async function buildNavTree(
+  categoryId: string,
+  locale: string,
+  fallbackLocale: string,
+  tree: CategoryTree,
+  visited: Set<string> = new Set()
+): Promise<NavCategoryNode | null> {
+  // Mark before any await so concurrent sibling recursions can't
+  // re-enter this node, and a back-edge in malformed data (a child
+  // re-parented onto an ancestor) is dropped instead of recursing
+  // forever.
+  visited.add(categoryId)
+  const node = tree.byId.get(categoryId)
+  const [name, pageRows] = await Promise.all([
+    getCategoryName(categoryId, locale, fallbackLocale),
+    getCategoryPageTranslations(categoryId, locale, fallbackLocale)
+  ])
+  const url = categoryUrlPath(tree, categoryId)
+
+  const pageItems: NavPageNode[] = pageRows.map(({ page, translation }) => ({
+    kind: 'page' as const,
+    url: pageUrlPath(tree, page),
+    title: translation.title,
+    menu_order: page.menu_order
+  }))
+
+  const childCats = (tree.childrenByParent.get(categoryId) ?? []).filter(c => !visited.has(c.id))
+  const childSections = (await Promise.all(
+    childCats.map(c => buildNavTree(c.id, locale, fallbackLocale, tree, visited))
+  )).filter((s): s is NavCategoryNode => s !== null)
+
+  // Drop a category with no published pages of its own and no
+  // page-bearing descendants — it would render as an empty heading.
+  if (pageItems.length === 0 && childSections.length === 0) return null
+
+  // Subcategories first, then this category's own pages — each group
+  // ordered by menu_order (ties broken by title).
+  const byOrder = (a: NavNode, b: NavNode) =>
+    a.menu_order - b.menu_order || a.title.localeCompare(b.title)
+  const items: NavNode[] = [
+    ...childSections.sort(byOrder),
+    ...pageItems.sort(byOrder)
+  ]
+
+  return {
+    kind: 'category' as const,
+    url,
+    title: name ?? node?.slug ?? '',
+    menu_order: node?.menu_order ?? 0,
+    items
+  }
+}
+
+async function summarizeChildCategories(
+  parents: TreeCategory[],
+  locale: string,
+  fallbackLocale: string,
+  basePath: string
+): Promise<ChildCategorySummary[]> {
+  const out: ChildCategorySummary[] = []
+  for (const child of parents) {
+    const [name, defaultPage] = await Promise.all([
+      getCategoryName(child.id, locale, fallbackLocale),
+      getCategoryDefaultPage(child.id, locale, fallbackLocale)
+    ])
+    if (!name) continue
+    out.push({
+      slug: child.slug,
+      url: basePath ? `${basePath}/${child.slug}` : child.slug,
+      title: name,
+      excerpt: defaultPage?.translation.excerpt ?? null,
+      featured_image: defaultPage?.translation.featured_image ?? null,
+      menu_order: child.menu_order
+    })
+  }
+  return out
+}
+
 export default defineCachedEventHandler(async (event) => {
   const raw = getRouterParam(event, 'slug')
   const slugParam = Array.isArray(raw) ? raw.join('/') : (raw ?? '')
-  const slug = slugParam.replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
-  if (!slug) {
+  const fullPath = slugParam.replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
+  if (!fullPath) {
     throw createError({ statusCode: 400, statusMessage: 'Missing slug' })
   }
 
   const query = getQuery(event)
   const requested = typeof query.locale === 'string' ? query.locale : 'en'
   const locale = ENABLED_LOCALES.has(requested) ? requested : 'en'
+  const fallbackLocale = 'en'
 
-  // Try the slug as a page first. If no page row matches, see if the
-  // slug identifies a category, and render its default page.
-  let result = await getPageBySlug(slug, locale, { fallback: 'en' })
-  let bareCategorySlug: string | null = null
+  const segments = fullPath.split('/').filter(Boolean)
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const { category: deepestCategory, remaining } = walkCategorySegments(tree, segments)
 
-  if (!result) {
-    const category = await getCategoryBySlug(slug)
-    if (category) {
-      const defaultPage = await getCategoryDefaultPage(category.id, locale, 'en')
-      if (defaultPage) {
-        result = {
-          page: defaultPage.page,
-          translation: defaultPage.translation,
-          resolvedLocale: defaultPage.translation.locale,
-          requestedLocale: locale
-        }
-        bareCategorySlug = category.slug
+  // Resolve to either a page (in deepestCategory) or a category landing.
+  let result: LocalizedPage | null = null
+  let resolvedCategory: TreeCategory | null = deepestCategory
+  let bareCategory: TreeCategory | null = null
+
+  if (remaining.length === 0 && deepestCategory) {
+    // Bare category URL like /resources or /resources/adoption.
+    const def = await getCategoryDefaultPage(deepestCategory.id, locale, fallbackLocale)
+    if (def) {
+      result = {
+        page: def.page,
+        translation: def.translation,
+        resolvedLocale: def.translation.locale,
+        requestedLocale: locale
+      }
+      bareCategory = deepestCategory
+      resolvedCategory = deepestCategory
+    } else {
+      // Empty category — still render a landing if it has child
+      // categories. Use a synthetic empty translation.
+      const childCats = tree.childrenByParent.get(deepestCategory.id) ?? []
+      if (childCats.length === 0) {
+        throw createError({ statusCode: 404, statusMessage: 'Page not found' })
+      }
+      bareCategory = deepestCategory
+      resolvedCategory = deepestCategory
+    }
+  } else if (remaining.length === 1) {
+    // Final segment is a page leaf inside `deepestCategory` (or
+    // uncategorized when no category matched at all).
+    const parentCategoryId = deepestCategory?.id ?? null
+    const page = await findPageInCategory(parentCategoryId, remaining[0]!)
+    if (page) {
+      const localized = await getLocalizedTranslation(page.id, locale, { fallback: fallbackLocale })
+      if (localized) {
+        result = localized
+        resolvedCategory = deepestCategory
       }
     }
   }
+  // Anything deeper than one trailing leaf can't resolve — slugs are
+  // single segments now.
 
-  if (!result) {
+  if (!result && !bareCategory) {
     throw createError({ statusCode: 404, statusMessage: 'Page not found' })
   }
 
-  const { page, translation, resolvedLocale, requestedLocale } = result
-  const bodyHtml = renderTiptap(translation.body_json)
+  const renderedLocale = result?.resolvedLocale ?? fallbackLocale
+  const requestedLocale = locale
+  const bodyHtml = result ? renderTiptap(result.translation.body_json) : ''
 
-  let menuParent: { slug: string; title: string } | null = null
-  let categorySlug: string | null = bareCategorySlug
+  // Build the navigation sidebar: siblings within the resolved category.
+  let menuParent: { slug: string; url: string; title: string } | null = null
+  let categorySlug: string | null = null
+  let categoryUrl: string | null = null
   let children: Array<{
     slug: string
+    url: string
     title: string
     excerpt: string | null
     featured_image: string | null
     menu_order: number
   }> = []
 
-  if (page.category_id) {
-    const [categoryRow, categoryName, siblingRows] = await Promise.all([
-      db
-        .selectFrom('categories')
-        .select('slug')
-        .where('id', '=', page.category_id)
-        .executeTakeFirst(),
-      getCategoryName(page.category_id, resolvedLocale, 'en'),
-      getCategoryPageTranslations(page.category_id, resolvedLocale, 'en')
+  const navCategoryId = result?.page.category_id ?? bareCategory?.id ?? null
+  let navTree: NavCategoryNode | null = null
+  if (navCategoryId) {
+    const [categoryName, siblingRows] = await Promise.all([
+      getCategoryName(navCategoryId, renderedLocale, fallbackLocale),
+      getCategoryPageTranslations(navCategoryId, renderedLocale, fallbackLocale)
     ])
-
-    if (categoryRow) categorySlug = categoryRow.slug
-    if (categorySlug && categoryName) {
-      menuParent = { slug: categorySlug, title: categoryName }
+    const navCategory = tree.byId.get(navCategoryId) ?? null
+    categorySlug = navCategory?.slug ?? null
+    categoryUrl = categoryUrlPath(tree, navCategoryId) || null
+    if (categoryUrl && categoryName) {
+      menuParent = { slug: categorySlug ?? '', url: categoryUrl, title: categoryName }
     }
     children = siblingRows.map(({ page: c, translation: t }) => ({
       slug: c.slug,
+      url: pageUrlPath(tree, c),
       title: t.title,
       excerpt: t.excerpt,
       featured_image: t.featured_image,
       menu_order: c.menu_order
     }))
+
+    // Build the recursive sidebar rooted at the top-level ancestor
+    // of the current category. Every page in the subtree shares the
+    // same sidebar — visiting /resources/adoption/foo gives the same
+    // nav as /resources/training/bar.
+    let navRootId = navCategoryId
+    while (true) {
+      const ancestor = tree.byId.get(navRootId)
+      if (!ancestor?.parent_id) break
+      navRootId = ancestor.parent_id
+    }
+    navTree = await buildNavTree(navRootId, renderedLocale, fallbackLocale, tree)
   }
 
+  // Child categories below this one — surfaced so archive landing
+  // pages can render a card grid of subsections.
+  let childCategories: ChildCategorySummary[] = []
+  // The index/grid layout belongs to the bare category URL only
+  // (`/resources`), not to a page's own URL (`/resources/overview`) —
+  // even when that page is the category default (menu_order 0). This
+  // keeps every page reachable as an article when its card is clicked.
+  const isCategoryLanding = Boolean(bareCategory)
+  if (isCategoryLanding && resolvedCategory) {
+    const cats = tree.childrenByParent.get(resolvedCategory.id) ?? []
+    if (cats.length > 0) {
+      // Hide subcategories with no published pages anywhere in their
+      // subtree — matches the menu so empty categories aren't surfaced
+      // as dead-end cards.
+      const withPages = await categoryIdsWithPublishedPages(renderedLocale, fallbackLocale)
+      const nonEmpty = cats.filter(c =>
+        descendantCategoryIds(tree, c.id).some(id => withPages.has(id))
+      )
+      if (nonEmpty.length > 0) {
+        const basePath = categoryUrlPath(tree, resolvedCategory.id)
+        childCategories = await summarizeChildCategories(nonEmpty, renderedLocale, fallbackLocale, basePath)
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  const url = result ? pageUrlPath(tree, result.page) : (bareCategory ? categoryUrlPath(tree, bareCategory.id) : fullPath)
+
   return {
-    slug: page.slug,
-    category_id: page.category_id,
+    url,
+    slug: result?.page.slug ?? bareCategory?.slug ?? '',
+    category_id: result?.page.category_id ?? bareCategory?.id ?? null,
     category_slug: categorySlug,
-    menu_order: page.menu_order,
-    theme: page.theme,
-    custom_css: page.custom_css,
+    category_url: categoryUrl,
+    menu_order: result?.page.menu_order ?? 0,
+    theme: result?.page.theme ?? 'default',
+    custom_css: result?.page.custom_css ?? null,
     requested_locale: requestedLocale,
-    resolved_locale: resolvedLocale,
-    title: translation.title,
-    excerpt: translation.excerpt,
-    featured_image: translation.featured_image,
-    meta_title: translation.meta_title,
-    meta_description: translation.meta_description,
-    og_image: translation.og_image,
+    resolved_locale: renderedLocale,
+    title: result?.translation.title ?? '',
+    excerpt: result?.translation.excerpt ?? null,
+    featured_image: result?.translation.featured_image ?? null,
+    meta_title: result?.translation.meta_title ?? null,
+    meta_description: result?.translation.meta_description ?? null,
+    og_image: result?.translation.og_image ?? null,
     body_html: bodyHtml,
     body_is_empty: bodyHtml.trim() === '',
+    is_category_landing: isCategoryLanding,
     menu_parent: menuParent,
-    children
+    children,
+    child_categories: childCategories,
+    nav_tree: navTree
   }
 }, {
-  // Keyed by (locale, slug). Purged from mutation endpoints via
-  // purgeCmsPage() in server/utils/cmsCache.ts. The slug is hex-encoded
-  // because Nitro's internal escapeKey() strips non-word chars (`:`,
-  // `/`, `-`), which would otherwise collide nested slugs like
-  // `about/team` with `about-team`.
+  // Keyed by (locale, full URL path). The slug is hex-encoded because
+  // Nitro's escapeKey() strips non-word characters (`:`, `/`, `-`),
+  // which would otherwise collide nested paths like `about/team` with
+  // `about-team`.
   name: 'cms',
   getKey: (event) => {
     const raw = getRouterParam(event, 'slug')
@@ -139,6 +336,5 @@ export default defineCachedEventHandler(async (event) => {
   },
   maxAge: 60 * 60,
   swr: true,
-  // Admins editing content must never see — or poison — cached output.
   shouldBypassCache: event => !!getCookie(event, 'auth-token')
 })
diff --git a/server/database/categories.ts b/server/database/categories.ts
index e7e31509..b28e72db 100644
--- a/server/database/categories.ts
+++ b/server/database/categories.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 // Query helpers for the `categories` + `category_translations` tables.
-// Categories are a first-class replacement for the old
-// `pages.parent_slug` hierarchy: purely organizational groups that
-// expose a shared URL prefix, a translated sidebar heading, and a
-// drag-and-drop ordering for their member pages.
+// Categories form a tree (`parent_id`) and provide the URL prefix for
+// every page beneath them. Pages store only their own leaf slug; the
+// full URL is computed at request time by walking the chain.
 
 import { db } from '../utils/database'
 import type {
@@ -14,6 +13,12 @@ import type {
 import type { Selectable } from 'kysely'
 import { sql } from 'kysely'
 import { purgeCmsPage } from '../utils/cmsCache'
+import {
+  loadCategoryTree,
+  categoryUrlPath,
+  pageUrlPath,
+  descendantCategoryIds
+} from './categoryTree'
 
 export type Category = Selectable<CategoriesTable>
 export type CategoryTranslation = Selectable<CategoryTranslationsTable>
@@ -91,15 +96,6 @@ export async function getCategory(id: string): Promise<CategoryWithTranslations
   return { category, translations }
 }
 
-export async function getCategoryBySlug(slug: string): Promise<Category | null> {
-  const row = await db
-    .selectFrom('categories')
-    .selectAll()
-    .where('slug', '=', slug)
-    .executeTakeFirst()
-  return row ?? null
-}
-
 export async function getCategoryName(
   categoryId: string,
   locale: string,
@@ -126,8 +122,7 @@ export async function getCategoryName(
 }
 
 // Sidebar siblings for a category: every page in the category,
-// ordered. Matches the old parent_slug-based sibling lookup but keyed
-// on category_id.
+// ordered by menu_order then leaf slug.
 export async function getCategoryPages(categoryId: string): Promise<Page[]> {
   return db
     .selectFrom('pages')
@@ -177,10 +172,34 @@ export async function getCategoryPageTranslations(
     .filter(entry => Boolean(entry.translation))
 }
 
-// Public URL resolution for `/about` → first page in About. Picks
-// whichever page has the lowest menu_order (ties broken by slug) and
-// has at least one published translation, so bare category slugs never
-// resolve to something the visitor can't read.
+// Public URL resolution for a bare category path (e.g. `/resources`).
+// Picks whichever page has the lowest menu_order (ties broken by leaf
+// slug) and has at least one published translation, so bare category
+// slugs never resolve to something the visitor can't read.
+// Set of category ids that directly hold at least one page with a
+// published translation in `locale` (or the fallback). Callers combine
+// it with `descendantCategoryIds` to decide whether a category subtree
+// has any visible pages — e.g. to hide empty categories from the menu
+// and the landing-page grid.
+export async function categoryIdsWithPublishedPages(
+  locale: string,
+  fallbackLocale = 'en'
+): Promise<Set<string>> {
+  const locales = locale === fallbackLocale ? [locale] : [locale, fallbackLocale]
+  const rows = await db
+    .selectFrom('pages')
+    .innerJoin('page_translations', 'page_translations.page_id', 'pages.id')
+    .select('pages.category_id')
+    .where('pages.category_id', 'is not', null)
+    .where('page_translations.status', '=', 'published')
+    .where('page_translations.locale', 'in', locales)
+    .distinct()
+    .execute()
+  const set = new Set<string>()
+  for (const r of rows) if (r.category_id) set.add(r.category_id)
+  return set
+}
+
 export async function getCategoryDefaultPage(
   categoryId: string,
   locale: string,
@@ -192,6 +211,7 @@ export async function getCategoryDefaultPage(
 
 export interface CreateCategoryInput {
   slug: string
+  parent_id?: string | null
   menu_order?: number
   translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
 }
@@ -202,6 +222,7 @@ export async function createCategory(input: CreateCategoryInput): Promise<Catego
       .insertInto('categories')
       .values({
         slug: input.slug,
+        parent_id: input.parent_id ?? null,
         menu_order: input.menu_order ?? 0
       })
       .returningAll()
@@ -225,12 +246,15 @@ export async function createCategory(input: CreateCategoryInput): Promise<Catego
 
 export interface UpdateCategoryInput {
   slug?: string
+  parent_id?: string | null
   menu_order?: number
   translations?: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
 }
 
-// Returns the set of slugs whose cached rendering needs busting (old
-// and new URLs for every renamed member page).
+// A slug or parent_id change rewrites the URL of every page in the
+// category subtree. We compute the *old* URL for each affected page
+// before committing, so cache-purge can invalidate the keys that
+// existed prior to the change.
 export async function updateCategory(
   id: string,
   input: UpdateCategoryInput
@@ -246,36 +270,44 @@ export async function updateCategory(
     }
 
     const slugsToPurge: string[] = []
+    const structureChanged =
+      (input.slug !== undefined && input.slug !== existing.slug) ||
+      (input.parent_id !== undefined && (input.parent_id ?? null) !== existing.parent_id)
 
-    // Slug rename cascades to every member page so their stored slugs
-    // stay `{category.slug}/...` — the app relies on that prefix for
-    // URL resolution.
-    if (input.slug && input.slug !== existing.slug) {
-      const newSlug = input.slug
-
-      const memberPages = await trx
+    // Snapshot the current full URL for every page beneath this
+    // category before we change anything. After commit the same pages
+    // will live at new URLs; the old keys still need to be purged.
+    if (structureChanged) {
+      const treeBefore = await loadCategoryTree(trx)
+      const subtreeIds = descendantCategoryIds(treeBefore, id)
+      const pages = await trx
         .selectFrom('pages')
-        .select(['id', 'slug'])
-        .where('category_id', '=', id)
+        .select(['slug', 'category_id'])
+        .where('category_id', 'in', subtreeIds)
         .execute()
-
-      for (const page of memberPages) {
-        const suffix = page.slug.startsWith(`${existing.slug}/`)
-          ? page.slug.slice(existing.slug.length + 1)
-          : page.slug
-        const updatedSlug = `${newSlug}/${suffix}`
-        slugsToPurge.push(page.slug)
-        slugsToPurge.push(updatedSlug)
-        await trx
-          .updateTable('pages')
-          .set({ slug: updatedSlug, updated: sql`now()` })
-          .where('id', '=', page.id)
-          .execute()
+      for (const p of pages) {
+        slugsToPurge.push(pageUrlPath(treeBefore, p))
       }
+      // Also bust the bare-category landing URL for every node in the
+      // subtree so /resources keeps working after a rename.
+      for (const cid of subtreeIds) {
+        const path = categoryUrlPath(treeBefore, cid)
+        if (path) slugsToPurge.push(path)
+      }
+    }
 
+    if (input.slug !== undefined && input.slug !== existing.slug) {
       await trx
         .updateTable('categories')
-        .set({ slug: newSlug, updated: sql`now()` })
+        .set({ slug: input.slug, updated: sql`now()` })
+        .where('id', '=', id)
+        .execute()
+    }
+
+    if (input.parent_id !== undefined && (input.parent_id ?? null) !== existing.parent_id) {
+      await trx
+        .updateTable('categories')
+        .set({ parent_id: input.parent_id ?? null, updated: sql`now()` })
         .where('id', '=', id)
         .execute()
     }
@@ -329,20 +361,41 @@ export async function updateCategory(
       }
 
       // Every member page's cached response embeds the category's name
-      // as its `menu_parent.title`. When the category name changes in
-      // any locale, purge every member so readers see the new label.
+      // as its `menu_parent.title`. When the name changes in any
+      // locale, purge every member so readers see the new label.
+      // Use the post-change tree since the slug/parent (if changed)
+      // already settled above.
       if (translationsChanged) {
-        const memberSlugs = await trx
+        const treeAfter = await loadCategoryTree(trx)
+        const subtreeIds = descendantCategoryIds(treeAfter, id)
+        const pages = await trx
           .selectFrom('pages')
-          .select('slug')
-          .where('category_id', '=', id)
+          .select(['slug', 'category_id'])
+          .where('category_id', 'in', subtreeIds)
           .execute()
-        for (const { slug } of memberSlugs) {
-          slugsToPurge.push(slug)
+        for (const p of pages) {
+          slugsToPurge.push(pageUrlPath(treeAfter, p))
         }
       }
     }
 
+    // The parent category's landing page renders a grid of its child
+    // categories (each child's url, title, and order). Any edit this
+    // grid reflects — slug, parent, menu_order, or name — leaves the
+    // old and new parents' landing pages stale, so purge them too. The
+    // parents' own paths are unaffected by this category's change, so a
+    // single post-change tree resolves both correctly.
+    const parentIdsToPurge = new Set<string>()
+    if (existing.parent_id) parentIdsToPurge.add(existing.parent_id)
+    if (input.parent_id) parentIdsToPurge.add(input.parent_id)
+    if (parentIdsToPurge.size > 0) {
+      const parentTree = await loadCategoryTree(trx)
+      for (const pid of parentIdsToPurge) {
+        const path = categoryUrlPath(parentTree, pid)
+        if (path) slugsToPurge.push(path)
+      }
+    }
+
     const fresh = await trx
       .selectFrom('categories')
       .selectAll()
@@ -362,6 +415,14 @@ export async function deleteCategory(id: string): Promise<void> {
   if (pageCount.count > 0) {
     throw Object.assign(new Error('Category still has pages'), { statusCode: 409 })
   }
+  const childCount = await db
+    .selectFrom('categories')
+    .select(sql<number>`COUNT(*)::int`.as('count'))
+    .where('parent_id', '=', id)
+    .executeTakeFirstOrThrow()
+  if (childCount.count > 0) {
+    throw Object.assign(new Error('Category still has child categories'), { statusCode: 409 })
+  }
   await db.deleteFrom('categories').where('id', '=', id).execute()
 }
 
diff --git a/server/database/categoryTree.ts b/server/database/categoryTree.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0f7e5eeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/database/categoryTree.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+// Category tree helpers. The CMS stores only the leaf segment of a
+// page's URL on `pages.slug`; the full URL is derived by walking the
+// category's ancestor chain at request time. These helpers keep that
+// derivation in one place so the lookup endpoint, link builders, cache
+// purgers, and admin previews all agree on what `/resources/adoption/foo`
+// actually resolves to.
+
+import type { Kysely } from 'kysely'
+import { db } from '../utils/database'
+import type { Database } from './schema'
+
+export interface TreeCategory {
+  id: string
+  parent_id: string | null
+  slug: string
+  menu_order: number
+}
+
+export interface CategoryTree {
+  byId: Map<string, TreeCategory>
+  childrenByParent: Map<string | null, TreeCategory[]>
+}
+
+// Load every category row into an in-memory tree. Categories are
+// shallow (dozens of rows), so a single SELECT-all + Map build is
+// cheaper than recursive CTE walks per page request.
+export async function loadCategoryTree(
+  executor: Kysely<Database> = db
+): Promise<CategoryTree> {
+  const rows = await executor
+    .selectFrom('categories')
+    .select(['id', 'parent_id', 'slug', 'menu_order'])
+    .execute()
+
+  const byId = new Map<string, TreeCategory>()
+  const childrenByParent = new Map<string | null, TreeCategory[]>()
+  for (const r of rows) {
+    byId.set(r.id, r)
+    const key = r.parent_id ?? null
+    const list = childrenByParent.get(key) ?? []
+    list.push(r)
+    childrenByParent.set(key, list)
+  }
+  // Stable sibling ordering so callers don't have to re-sort.
+  for (const list of childrenByParent.values()) {
+    list.sort((a, b) =>
+      a.menu_order - b.menu_order || a.slug.localeCompare(b.slug)
+    )
+  }
+  return { byId, childrenByParent }
+}
+
+// Returns the chain of categories from root → leaf for the given id,
+// or [] if the id isn't in the tree. Empty when called with null.
+export function categoryChain(
+  tree: CategoryTree,
+  categoryId: string | null
+): TreeCategory[] {
+  if (!categoryId) return []
+  const chain: TreeCategory[] = []
+  let id: string | null = categoryId
+  // Hard cap protects against accidental cycles in malformed data.
+  for (let i = 0; i < 32 && id; i++) {
+    const node = tree.byId.get(id)
+    if (!node) break
+    chain.unshift(node)
+    id = node.parent_id
+  }
+  return chain
+}
+
+// Slug path for a category, e.g. "resources/adoption". Empty string
+// when the category isn't in the tree.
+export function categoryUrlPath(
+  tree: CategoryTree,
+  categoryId: string | null
+): string {
+  return categoryChain(tree, categoryId).map(c => c.slug).join('/')
+}
+
+// Full URL path for a page given its (leaf) slug + category. Examples:
+//   page leaf "overview", category "resources" → "resources/overview"
+//   page leaf "privacy", no category            → "privacy"
+export function pageUrlPath(
+  tree: CategoryTree,
+  page: { slug: string; category_id: string | null }
+): string {
+  const prefix = categoryUrlPath(tree, page.category_id)
+  return prefix ? `${prefix}/${page.slug}` : page.slug
+}
+
+// Walk a "/"-separated path through the category tree as far as it
+// matches. Returns the deepest category we could match, plus the
+// segments that come after it (zero or one segment for a page leaf,
+// or more if the path doesn't fully resolve).
+export interface ResolvedSegments {
+  category: TreeCategory | null
+  remaining: string[]
+}
+
+export function walkCategorySegments(
+  tree: CategoryTree,
+  segments: string[]
+): ResolvedSegments {
+  let parentId: string | null = null
+  let current: TreeCategory | null = null
+  let i = 0
+  for (; i < segments.length; i++) {
+    const seg = segments[i]!
+    const siblings: TreeCategory[] = tree.childrenByParent.get(parentId) ?? []
+    const match: TreeCategory | undefined = siblings.find((c: TreeCategory) => c.slug === seg)
+    if (!match) break
+    current = match
+    parentId = match.id
+  }
+  return { category: current, remaining: segments.slice(i) }
+}
+
+// Returns the descendant category id set (including the root id),
+// e.g. for cache purges that need to enumerate every page beneath a
+// category that just got renamed or moved.
+export function descendantCategoryIds(
+  tree: CategoryTree,
+  rootId: string
+): string[] {
+  const out: string[] = []
+  // `seen` guards against a back-edge in malformed data (a descendant
+  // re-parented onto an ancestor). Without it the stack would cycle
+  // forever and grow `out` unbounded.
+  const seen = new Set<string>()
+  const stack: string[] = [rootId]
+  while (stack.length) {
+    const id = stack.pop()!
+    if (seen.has(id)) continue
+    seen.add(id)
+    out.push(id)
+    const children = tree.childrenByParent.get(id) ?? []
+    for (const c of children) stack.push(c.id)
+  }
+  return out
+}
+
+// Catches a self-or-ancestor cycle when re-parenting a category. Pass
+// the candidate parent id; returns true when assigning it would create
+// a loop (parent is the category itself or one of its descendants).
+export function wouldCreateCycle(
+  tree: CategoryTree,
+  categoryId: string,
+  newParentId: string | null
+): boolean {
+  if (!newParentId) return false
+  if (newParentId === categoryId) return true
+  const descendants = new Set(descendantCategoryIds(tree, categoryId))
+  return descendants.has(newParentId)
+}
diff --git a/server/database/pages.ts b/server/database/pages.ts
index b2fdcaf4..de574b4e 100644
--- a/server/database/pages.ts
+++ b/server/database/pages.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-// Query helpers for the `pages` + `page_translations` tables (migration
-// 005). All functions use Kysely against the shared `db` instance.
+// Query helpers for the `pages` + `page_translations` tables.
+// `pages.slug` stores only the leaf segment of the URL; the full URL
+// is derived by walking `pages.category_id` up the category tree.
 //
-// Lookup semantics (`getPageBySlug`) mirror the plan: prefer the
-// requested locale's published translation, fall back to English if
-// that locale is missing/draft, return null when neither is published.
+// Translation lookup semantics: prefer the requested locale's
+// published translation, fall back to English if that locale is
+// missing/draft, return null when neither is published.
 
 import { db } from '../utils/database'
 import type { PagesTable, PageTranslationsTable } from './schema'
@@ -39,8 +40,28 @@ export async function listPages(): Promise<Page[]> {
     .execute()
 }
 
-export async function getPageBySlug(
-  slug: string,
+// Find a page by its leaf slug + parent category. Pass `null` for
+// `categoryId` to look up an uncategorized (top-level) page. Returns
+// the page row regardless of translation state — translation lookup
+// is split out into `getLocalizedTranslation` so callers can decide
+// whether to surface unpublished pages (the public endpoint won't).
+export async function findPageInCategory(
+  categoryId: string | null,
+  leafSlug: string
+): Promise<Page | null> {
+  let q = db
+    .selectFrom('pages')
+    .selectAll()
+    .where('slug', '=', leafSlug)
+  q = categoryId === null
+    ? q.where('category_id', 'is', null)
+    : q.where('category_id', '=', categoryId)
+  const row = await q.executeTakeFirst()
+  return row ?? null
+}
+
+export async function getLocalizedTranslation(
+  pageId: string,
   locale: string,
   options: { fallback?: string } = {}
 ): Promise<LocalizedPage | null> {
@@ -49,7 +70,7 @@ export async function getPageBySlug(
   const page = await db
     .selectFrom('pages')
     .selectAll()
-    .where('slug', '=', slug)
+    .where('id', '=', pageId)
     .executeTakeFirst()
   if (!page) return null
 
@@ -65,7 +86,6 @@ export async function getPageBySlug(
     return { page, translation, resolvedLocale: locale, requestedLocale: locale }
   }
 
-  // Fall back to published English if the requested locale isn't published
   if (locale !== fallbackLocale) {
     const fallback = await db
       .selectFrom('page_translations')
@@ -103,72 +123,6 @@ export async function deletePage(id: string): Promise<void> {
   await db.deleteFrom('pages').where('id', '=', id).execute()
 }
 
-// Moves a page into a new category (or detaches it by passing null)
-// and rewrites its slug so the `{category.slug}/...` prefix stays
-// consistent. Returns the set of slugs that need cache purging (old
-// slug + new slug).
-export async function setPageCategory(
-  pageId: string,
-  newCategoryId: string | null
-): Promise<{ page: Page; slugsToPurge: string[] }> {
-  return db.transaction().execute(async trx => {
-    const page = await trx
-      .selectFrom('pages')
-      .selectAll()
-      .where('id', '=', pageId)
-      .executeTakeFirst()
-    if (!page) {
-      throw Object.assign(new Error('Page not found'), { statusCode: 404 })
-    }
-
-    const oldSlug = page.slug
-    const oldCategoryId = page.category_id
-
-    // Figure out the slug leaf (everything after the current category
-    // prefix) so we can re-prefix it under the new category.
-    let leaf = oldSlug
-    if (oldCategoryId) {
-      const oldCategory = await trx
-        .selectFrom('categories')
-        .select('slug')
-        .where('id', '=', oldCategoryId)
-        .executeTakeFirst()
-      if (oldCategory && oldSlug.startsWith(`${oldCategory.slug}/`)) {
-        leaf = oldSlug.slice(oldCategory.slug.length + 1)
-      }
-    }
-
-    let newSlug: string
-    if (newCategoryId) {
-      const newCategory = await trx
-        .selectFrom('categories')
-        .select('slug')
-        .where('id', '=', newCategoryId)
-        .executeTakeFirst()
-      if (!newCategory) {
-        throw Object.assign(new Error('Category not found'), { statusCode: 404 })
-      }
-      newSlug = `${newCategory.slug}/${leaf}`
-    } else {
-      newSlug = leaf
-    }
-
-    const updated = await trx
-      .updateTable('pages')
-      .set({
-        category_id: newCategoryId,
-        slug: newSlug,
-        updated: sql`now()`
-      })
-      .where('id', '=', pageId)
-      .returningAll()
-      .executeTakeFirstOrThrow()
-
-    const slugsToPurge = oldSlug === newSlug ? [oldSlug] : [oldSlug, newSlug]
-    return { page: updated, slugsToPurge }
-  })
-}
-
 export async function upsertTranslation(input: {
   page_id: string
   locale: string
diff --git a/server/database/schema.ts b/server/database/schema.ts
index e8b821fc..4f00545a 100644
--- a/server/database/schema.ts
+++ b/server/database/schema.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ export interface PagesTable {
 export interface CategoriesTable {
   id: Generated<string>
   slug: string
+  parent_id: string | null
   menu_order: Generated<number>
   created: ColumnType<Date, Date | string | undefined, Date | string>
   updated: ColumnType<Date, Date | string | undefined, Date | string>
diff --git a/server/mcp/schemas.ts b/server/mcp/schemas.ts
index 4082c404..c643f301 100644
--- a/server/mcp/schemas.ts
+++ b/server/mcp/schemas.ts
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ export const listCategoriesInput = z.object({}).strict()
 export const createCategoryInput = z
   .object({
     slug: slugString,
+    parent_id: idString.nullish(),
     menu_order: z.number().int().min(0).optional(),
     translations: categoryTranslationsInput
   })
@@ -176,6 +177,7 @@ export const updateCategoryInput = z
   .object({
     id: idString,
     slug: slugString.optional(),
+    parent_id: idString.nullish(),
     menu_order: z.number().int().min(0).optional(),
     translations: categoryTranslationsInput.optional()
   })
diff --git a/server/mcp/tools/categories.ts b/server/mcp/tools/categories.ts
index 57409827..de192076 100644
--- a/server/mcp/tools/categories.ts
+++ b/server/mcp/tools/categories.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import {
 
 export const listCategoriesTool = defineMcpTool({
   name: 'list_categories',
-  description: 'List all CMS categories with their per-locale names, menu_order, and the number of pages currently attached.',
+  description: 'List all CMS categories with their per-locale names, menu_order, parent_id, computed URL path, and the number of pages currently attached.',
   scope: 'pages.view',
   input: listCategoriesInput,
   async handler() {
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ export const listCategoriesTool = defineMcpTool({
         categories: rows.map(row => ({
           id: row.id,
           slug: row.slug,
+          parent_id: row.parent_id,
+          url: row.url,
           menu_order: row.menu_order,
           page_count: row.page_count,
           translations: row.translations.map(t => ({
@@ -47,17 +49,19 @@ export const listCategoriesTool = defineMcpTool({
 
 export const createCategoryTool = defineMcpTool({
   name: 'create_category',
-  description: 'Create a new CMS category. Slug must be lowercase letters/digits/dashes (no slashes). Requires at least an English (locale "en") translation entry.',
+  description: 'Create a new CMS category. Slug must be lowercase letters/digits/dashes (no slashes). Pass `parent_id` to nest under another category (omit/null for top level). Requires at least an English (locale "en") translation entry.',
   scope: 'pages.write',
   input: createCategoryInput,
   async handler(input, ctx) {
     const category = await createCmsCategory({
       slug: input.slug,
+      parent_id: input.parent_id ?? null,
       menu_order: input.menu_order,
       translations: input.translations
     })
     await mcpLog('CREATE', 'categories', category.id, ctx, {
       slug: input.slug,
+      parent_id: category.parent_id,
       translation_count: input.translations.length
     })
     return {
@@ -69,13 +73,14 @@ export const createCategoryTool = defineMcpTool({
 
 export const updateCategoryTool = defineMcpTool({
   name: 'update_category',
-  description: 'Update a CMS category — slug, menu_order, or per-locale translations. Slug renames cascade to every member page and bust the affected cache entries.',
+  description: 'Update a CMS category — slug, parent_id, menu_order, or per-locale translations. A slug or parent change cascades to every URL in the subtree and busts the affected cache entries.',
   scope: 'pages.write',
   input: updateCategoryInput,
   async handler(input, ctx) {
     const result = await updateCmsCategory({
       id: input.id,
       slug: input.slug,
+      parent_id: input.parent_id === undefined ? undefined : (input.parent_id ?? null),
       menu_order: input.menu_order,
       translations: input.translations
     })
diff --git a/server/mcp/tools/pages.ts b/server/mcp/tools/pages.ts
index c12b8abd..2c35232f 100644
--- a/server/mcp/tools/pages.ts
+++ b/server/mcp/tools/pages.ts
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ export const listPagesTool = defineMcpTool({
 
 export const getPageTool = defineMcpTool({
   name: 'get_page',
-  description: 'Fetch a single CMS page by id or slug, including all translations (any status). Each translation includes body_json (Tiptap JSON), a Markdown rendering, and a body_is_lossy_in_markdown flag.',
+  description: 'Fetch a single CMS page by id or slug, including all translations (any status). The `slug` lookup takes the full URL path (e.g. "resources/overview", as returned in `url`); a bare leaf ("privacy") only matches an uncategorized page. Each translation includes body_json (Tiptap JSON), a Markdown rendering, and a body_is_lossy_in_markdown flag.',
   scope: 'pages.view',
   input: getPageInput,
   async handler(input) {
@@ -82,13 +82,15 @@ export const getPageTool = defineMcpTool({
       }
     })
     return {
-      content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Page "${found.page.slug}" (${translations.length} translation(s))` }],
+      content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Page "${found.url}" (${translations.length} translation(s))` }],
       structuredContent: {
         page: {
           id: found.page.id,
           slug: found.page.slug,
+          url: found.url,
           category_id: found.page.category_id,
           category_slug: found.category_slug,
+          category_path: found.category_path,
           menu_order: found.page.menu_order,
           theme: found.page.theme,
           custom_css: found.page.custom_css
@@ -101,7 +103,7 @@ export const getPageTool = defineMcpTool({
 
 export const createPageTool = defineMcpTool({
   name: 'create_page',
-  description: 'Create a new CMS page shell, optionally with an inline initial translation. The page shell + translation are committed atomically. Slug rules: under a category the slug must start with "<category_slug>/"; uncategorized slugs cannot collide with category slugs. If translation.body_markdown is supplied it is converted to Tiptap JSON server-side; if translation.body_json is supplied it is validated against the schema/attribute allowlist.',
+  description: 'Create a new CMS page shell, optionally with an inline initial translation. The page shell + translation are committed atomically. Slug rules: leaf-only (lowercase letters, digits, dashes — no slashes). The page\'s URL is derived from its category chain + leaf, so a page in category X with slug "foo" lives at /<X-url>/foo. Uniqueness is enforced per-category, and the leaf cannot collide with a sibling category at the same level. If translation.body_markdown is supplied it is converted to Tiptap JSON server-side; if translation.body_json is supplied it is validated against the schema/attribute allowlist.',
   scope: 'pages.write',
   input: createPageInput,
   async handler(input, ctx) {
@@ -170,7 +172,7 @@ export const createPageTool = defineMcpTool({
 
 export const updatePageTool = defineMcpTool({
   name: 'update_page',
-  description: 'Update a page\'s metadata: slug, category_id, menu_order, theme, custom_css. Translation edits go through upsert_page_translation. Changing the category rewrites the slug prefix; cache for the old + new slug + categories is purged.',
+  description: 'Update a page\'s metadata: slug (leaf only), category_id, menu_order, theme, custom_css. Translation edits go through upsert_page_translation. Changing slug or category changes the public URL — cache for the old and new URLs is purged.',
   scope: 'pages.write',
   input: updatePageInput,
   async handler(input, ctx) {
@@ -200,11 +202,11 @@ export const deletePageTool = defineMcpTool({
   destructive: true,
   input: deletePageInput,
   async handler(input, ctx) {
-    const { slug, categoryId } = await deleteCmsPage(input.id)
-    await mcpLog('DELETE', 'pages', input.id, ctx, { slug })
-    await applyPageInvalidations([slug], categoryId ? [categoryId] : [])
+    const { slug, url, categoryId } = await deleteCmsPage(input.id)
+    await mcpLog('DELETE', 'pages', input.id, ctx, { slug, url })
+    await applyPageInvalidations([url], categoryId ? [categoryId] : [])
     return {
-      content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Deleted page "${slug}"` }],
+      content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Deleted page "${url}"` }],
       structuredContent: { ok: true }
     }
   }
diff --git a/server/mcp/tools/translations.ts b/server/mcp/tools/translations.ts
index 5255d570..6e9a549a 100644
--- a/server/mcp/tools/translations.ts
+++ b/server/mcp/tools/translations.ts
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ export const upsertPageTranslationTool = defineMcpTool({
       })
     }
 
-    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageSlug, result.categoryId, input.locale)
+    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageUrl, result.categoryId, input.locale)
 
     const warningCount = result.sanitizationWarnings.length
     const warningSuffix = warningCount > 0
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ export const publishTranslationTool = defineMcpTool({
       to: 'published',
       locale: input.locale
     })
-    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageSlug, result.categoryId, input.locale)
+    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageUrl, result.categoryId, input.locale)
     return {
       content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Published ${result.translation.locale} translation` }],
       structuredContent: { translation: result.translation }
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ export const unpublishTranslationTool = defineMcpTool({
       to: 'draft',
       locale: input.locale
     })
-    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageSlug, result.categoryId, input.locale)
+    await applyTranslationInvalidations(result.pageUrl, result.categoryId, input.locale)
     return {
       content: [{ type: 'text', text: `Unpublished ${result.translation.locale} translation` }],
       structuredContent: { translation: result.translation }
diff --git a/server/services/cmsCategories.ts b/server/services/cmsCategories.ts
index c2d642de..96fcca1c 100644
--- a/server/services/cmsCategories.ts
+++ b/server/services/cmsCategories.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,5 @@
-// Category service. List/get reuse existing helpers; the writes
-// implement the validation + cache-purge contract MCP and admin both
-// rely on. Delete encodes the "refuse if pages still attached" rule
-// from plans/mcp-project/mcp-project.md (count + sample-slugs surface
-// on the structuredContent the tool returns).
+// Category service. Categories form a tree (`parent_id`); a slug or
+// parent change cascades to every URL beneath the affected node.
 
 import type { H3Error } from 'h3'
 import { sql } from 'kysely'
@@ -16,6 +13,11 @@ import {
   purgeSlugs
 } from '../database/categories'
 import type { Category, CategoryTranslation } from '../database/categories'
+import {
+  loadCategoryTree,
+  categoryUrlPath,
+  wouldCreateCycle
+} from '../database/categoryTree'
 
 function err(statusCode: number, message: string, extra?: Record<string, unknown>): H3Error {
   return Object.assign(new Error(message), {
@@ -28,14 +30,79 @@ function err(statusCode: number, message: string, extra?: Record<string, unknown
 export interface CategoryListItem extends Category {
   translations: CategoryTranslation[]
   page_count: number
+  url: string
+  // Slug-joined ancestor URL (e.g. "resources" — usable in href).
+  parent_path: string | null
+  // Human-readable ancestor chain using each ancestor's English name
+  // (e.g. "Resources" — for labels and dropdowns). Falls back to the
+  // slug for any ancestor missing an EN translation.
+  parent_label: string | null
+}
+
+// Joins a category's ancestor chain (root → immediate parent) using
+// each ancestor's English translation, falling back to the slug.
+function ancestorLabel(
+  tree: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof loadCategoryTree>>,
+  parentId: string | null,
+  enNameByCategory: Map<string, string>
+): string | null {
+  if (!parentId) return null
+  const labels: string[] = []
+  let id: string | null = parentId
+  for (let i = 0; i < 32 && id; i++) {
+    const node = tree.byId.get(id)
+    if (!node) break
+    labels.unshift(enNameByCategory.get(id) ?? node.slug)
+    id = node.parent_id
+  }
+  return labels.length ? labels.join(' / ') : null
 }
 
 export async function listCmsCategories(): Promise<CategoryListItem[]> {
-  return dbListCategoriesWithTranslations()
+  const rows = await dbListCategoriesWithTranslations()
+  if (rows.length === 0) return []
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const enByCategory = new Map<string, string>()
+  for (const row of rows) {
+    const en = row.translations.find(t => t.locale === 'en')?.name
+    if (en) enByCategory.set(row.id, en)
+  }
+  return rows.map(row => ({
+    ...row,
+    url: categoryUrlPath(tree, row.id),
+    parent_path: row.parent_id ? categoryUrlPath(tree, row.parent_id) : null,
+    parent_label: ancestorLabel(tree, row.parent_id, enByCategory)
+  }))
 }
 
 export async function getCmsCategory(id: string) {
-  return dbGetCategory(id)
+  const record = await dbGetCategory(id)
+  if (!record) return null
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  // Walk every ancestor's EN translation in one bulk query so the
+  // label chain doesn't fan out into per-ancestor SELECTs.
+  const ancestorIds: string[] = []
+  let cursor: string | null = record.category.parent_id
+  for (let i = 0; i < 32 && cursor; i++) {
+    ancestorIds.push(cursor)
+    cursor = tree.byId.get(cursor)?.parent_id ?? null
+  }
+  const enByCategory = new Map<string, string>()
+  if (ancestorIds.length > 0) {
+    const rows = await db
+      .selectFrom('category_translations')
+      .select(['category_id', 'name'])
+      .where('category_id', 'in', ancestorIds)
+      .where('locale', '=', 'en')
+      .execute()
+    for (const r of rows) enByCategory.set(r.category_id, r.name)
+  }
+  return {
+    ...record,
+    url: categoryUrlPath(tree, id),
+    parent_path: record.category.parent_id ? categoryUrlPath(tree, record.category.parent_id) : null,
+    parent_label: ancestorLabel(tree, record.category.parent_id, enByCategory)
+  }
 }
 
 function validateCategorySlug(slug: string): string {
@@ -57,8 +124,43 @@ function normalizeTranslations(
     .map(t => ({ locale: t.locale, name: t.name.trim() }))
 }
 
+// Sibling-collision check shared by create + update. A category and a
+// page at the same level can't share a leaf slug (the URL would be
+// ambiguous), nor can two sibling categories.
+async function ensureNoSiblingCollision(
+  slug: string,
+  parentId: string | null,
+  excludeCategoryId?: string
+): Promise<void> {
+  let catQ = db
+    .selectFrom('categories')
+    .select('id')
+    .where('slug', '=', slug)
+  catQ = parentId === null
+    ? catQ.where('parent_id', 'is', null)
+    : catQ.where('parent_id', '=', parentId)
+  if (excludeCategoryId) catQ = catQ.where('id', '!=', excludeCategoryId)
+  const collidingCat = await catQ.executeTakeFirst()
+  if (collidingCat) {
+    throw err(409, 'A category with that slug already exists at this level')
+  }
+
+  let pageQ = db
+    .selectFrom('pages')
+    .select('id')
+    .where('slug', '=', slug)
+  pageQ = parentId === null
+    ? pageQ.where('category_id', 'is', null)
+    : pageQ.where('category_id', '=', parentId)
+  const collidingPage = await pageQ.executeTakeFirst()
+  if (collidingPage) {
+    throw err(409, `A page already uses the slug "${slug}" at this level. Pick a different slug or move that page.`)
+  }
+}
+
 export interface CreateCategoryInput {
   slug: string
+  parent_id?: string | null
   menu_order?: number
   translations: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
 }
@@ -70,52 +172,86 @@ export async function createCmsCategory(input: CreateCategoryInput): Promise<Cat
     throw err(400, 'An English name is required')
   }
 
-  // Block collision with an uncategorized page
-  const collidingPage = await db
-    .selectFrom('pages')
-    .select('id')
-    .where('slug', '=', slug)
-    .where('category_id', 'is', null)
-    .executeTakeFirst()
-  if (collidingPage) {
-    throw err(409, `A page already uses the slug "${slug}". Pick a different category slug or reassign that page.`)
+  const parentId = input.parent_id ?? null
+  if (parentId) {
+    const parent = await db
+      .selectFrom('categories')
+      .select('id')
+      .where('id', '=', parentId)
+      .executeTakeFirst()
+    if (!parent) throw err(400, 'Parent category not found')
   }
 
+  await ensureNoSiblingCollision(slug, parentId)
+
+  let created: Category
   try {
-    return await dbCreateCategory({
+    created = await dbCreateCategory({
       slug,
+      parent_id: parentId,
       menu_order: input.menu_order ?? 0,
       translations
     })
   } catch (e: unknown) {
     if ((e as { code?: string })?.code === '23505') {
-      throw err(409, 'A category with that slug already exists')
+      throw err(409, 'A category with that slug already exists at this level')
     }
     throw e
   }
+
+  // A new child appears in its parent's landing-page grid; bust the
+  // parent's cached landing so it shows up without waiting for the TTL.
+  if (created.parent_id) {
+    const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+    const parentPath = categoryUrlPath(tree, created.parent_id)
+    if (parentPath) await applyCategoryInvalidations([parentPath])
+  }
+  return created
 }
 
 export interface UpdateCategoryInput {
   id: string
   slug?: string
+  parent_id?: string | null
   menu_order?: number
   translations?: Array<{ locale: string; name: string }>
 }
 
 export async function updateCmsCategory(input: UpdateCategoryInput): Promise<{ category: Category; slugsToPurge: string[] }> {
+  const existing = await db
+    .selectFrom('categories')
+    .selectAll()
+    .where('id', '=', input.id)
+    .executeTakeFirst()
+  if (!existing) throw err(404, 'Category not found')
+
   const args: Parameters<typeof dbUpdateCategory>[1] = {}
+  let nextSlug = existing.slug
+  let nextParentId: string | null = existing.parent_id
+
   if (input.slug !== undefined) {
-    const slug = validateCategorySlug(input.slug)
-    const collidingPage = await db
-      .selectFrom('pages')
-      .select('id')
-      .where('slug', '=', slug)
-      .where('category_id', 'is', null)
-      .executeTakeFirst()
-    if (collidingPage) {
-      throw err(409, `A page already uses the slug "${slug}".`)
+    nextSlug = validateCategorySlug(input.slug)
+    args.slug = nextSlug
+  }
+  if (input.parent_id !== undefined) {
+    nextParentId = input.parent_id ?? null
+    if (nextParentId) {
+      const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+      if (wouldCreateCycle(tree, input.id, nextParentId)) {
+        throw err(400, 'Parent must not be the category itself or one of its descendants')
+      }
+      const parent = await db
+        .selectFrom('categories')
+        .select('id')
+        .where('id', '=', nextParentId)
+        .executeTakeFirst()
+      if (!parent) throw err(400, 'Parent category not found')
     }
-    args.slug = slug
+    args.parent_id = nextParentId
+  }
+  if ((args.slug !== undefined && nextSlug !== existing.slug) ||
+      (args.parent_id !== undefined && nextParentId !== existing.parent_id)) {
+    await ensureNoSiblingCollision(nextSlug, nextParentId, input.id)
   }
   if (input.menu_order !== undefined) args.menu_order = input.menu_order
   if (input.translations !== undefined) args.translations = normalizeTranslations(input.translations)
@@ -124,30 +260,48 @@ export async function updateCmsCategory(input: UpdateCategoryInput): Promise<{ c
     return await dbUpdateCategory(input.id, args)
   } catch (e: unknown) {
     if ((e as { code?: string })?.code === '23505') {
-      throw err(409, 'A category with that slug already exists')
+      throw err(409, 'A category with that slug already exists at this level')
     }
     throw e
   }
 }
 
 export interface DeleteCategoryError {
-  error: 'attached_pages_present'
+  error: 'attached_pages_present' | 'child_categories_present'
   attached_page_count: number
   sample_slugs: string[]
 }
 
-// Returns null on success, or a structured error payload when pages
-// are still attached. Uses the FK constraint to handle the rare race
-// between count and delete (see plans/mcp-project/mcp-project.md).
+// Returns null on success, or a structured error payload when the
+// category still has pages or child categories.
 export async function deleteCmsCategory(id: string): Promise<{ ok: true; slug: string } | DeleteCategoryError> {
   const existing = await db
     .selectFrom('categories')
-    .select(['id', 'slug'])
+    .select(['id', 'slug', 'parent_id'])
     .where('id', '=', id)
     .executeTakeFirst()
   if (!existing) throw err(404, 'Category not found')
 
   const result = await db.transaction().execute(async (tx) => {
+    const childCountRow = await tx
+      .selectFrom('categories')
+      .select(sql<number>`COUNT(*)::int`.as('count'))
+      .where('parent_id', '=', id)
+      .executeTakeFirstOrThrow()
+    if (Number(childCountRow.count) > 0) {
+      const sample = await tx
+        .selectFrom('categories')
+        .select('slug')
+        .where('parent_id', '=', id)
+        .limit(5)
+        .execute()
+      return {
+        kind: 'children' as const,
+        attached_page_count: Number(childCountRow.count),
+        sample_slugs: sample.map(s => s.slug)
+      }
+    }
+
     const countRow = await tx
       .selectFrom('pages')
       .select(sql<number>`COUNT(*)::int`.as('count'))
@@ -174,7 +328,6 @@ export async function deleteCmsCategory(id: string): Promise<{ ok: true; slug: s
       return { kind: 'deleted' as const, slug: existing.slug }
     } catch (e: unknown) {
       if ((e as { code?: string })?.code === '23503') {
-        // FK violation: race window — a page was just attached.
         return {
           kind: 'attached' as const,
           attached_page_count: 1,
@@ -192,6 +345,22 @@ export async function deleteCmsCategory(id: string): Promise<{ ok: true; slug: s
       sample_slugs: result.sample_slugs
     }
   }
+  if (result.kind === 'children') {
+    return {
+      error: 'child_categories_present',
+      attached_page_count: result.attached_page_count,
+      sample_slugs: result.sample_slugs
+    }
+  }
+
+  // The deleted child drops out of its parent's landing-page grid; bust
+  // the parent's cached landing. (The parent still exists post-delete,
+  // so its path resolves.)
+  if (existing.parent_id) {
+    const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+    const parentPath = categoryUrlPath(tree, existing.parent_id)
+    if (parentPath) await applyCategoryInvalidations([parentPath])
+  }
   return { ok: true, slug: result.slug }
 }
 
diff --git a/server/services/cmsPages.ts b/server/services/cmsPages.ts
index 65eb8675..a37bab54 100644
--- a/server/services/cmsPages.ts
+++ b/server/services/cmsPages.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
-// Shared service for CMS page operations. Called by MCP tools today;
-// admin routes will follow under a separate service-extraction PR
-// (Phase P1/P4 in plans/mcp-project/mcp-project.md).
+// Shared service for CMS page operations. Called by MCP tools and admin
+// routes. Each operation owns: validation, DB writes (transactional
+// when more than one row changes), activity logging (post-commit unless
+// inside a transaction), and cache invalidation (always post-commit).
 //
-// Each operation is responsible for: validation, DB writes (in a
-// transaction when more than one row changes), activity logging
-// (post-commit unless inside a transaction), and cache invalidation
-// (always post-commit).
+// Slugs are leaves only — the public URL is derived from the page's
+// category chain at request time. Cache purges therefore work in terms
+// of *URLs* (`pageUrl`), not the raw `slug` column. Service callers get
+// the URL back in `slugsToPurge` (kept that name for compatibility with
+// the cache layer's API).
 
 import { sql } from 'kysely'
 import type { Kysely } from 'kysely'
@@ -14,7 +16,14 @@ import { db } from '../utils/database'
 import { purgeCmsPage, purgeCmsCategory } from '../utils/cmsCache'
 import { ENABLED_LANGUAGE_CODES } from '~~/config/languages'
 import type { Page, PageTranslation } from '../database/pages'
+import { findPageInCategory } from '../database/pages'
 import type { Database } from '../database/schema'
+import {
+  loadCategoryTree,
+  walkCategorySegments,
+  pageUrlPath,
+  categoryUrlPath
+} from '../database/categoryTree'
 
 export interface PageActor {
   userId: string
@@ -25,8 +34,10 @@ export interface PageActor {
 export interface PageListItem {
   id: string
   slug: string
+  url: string
   category_id: string | null
   category_slug: string | null
+  category_path: string | null
   theme: 'default' | 'green'
   menu_order: number
   translations: Array<{
@@ -138,9 +149,6 @@ export async function listCmsPages(opts: ListPagesOptions = {}): Promise<ListPag
 
   let translations = await tQuery.execute()
 
-  // Title substring match: requires a translation row to exist for
-  // the page (any locale). When a query is provided we also keep
-  // pages whose slug matched (already filtered above).
   if (opts.query) {
     const pattern = opts.query.toLowerCase()
     translations = translations.filter(t => t.title.toLowerCase().includes(pattern))
@@ -158,15 +166,21 @@ export async function listCmsPages(opts: ListPagesOptions = {}): Promise<ListPag
     tByPage.set(t.page_id, list)
   }
 
-  const out: PageListItem[] = pageRows.map(p => ({
-    id: p.id,
-    slug: p.slug,
-    category_id: p.category_id,
-    category_slug: p.category_slug ?? null,
-    theme: p.theme as 'default' | 'green',
-    menu_order: p.menu_order,
-    translations: tByPage.get(p.id) ?? []
-  }))
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const out: PageListItem[] = pageRows.map(p => {
+    const categoryPath = p.category_id ? categoryUrlPath(tree, p.category_id) : null
+    return {
+      id: p.id,
+      slug: p.slug,
+      url: pageUrlPath(tree, { slug: p.slug, category_id: p.category_id }),
+      category_id: p.category_id,
+      category_slug: p.category_slug ?? null,
+      category_path: categoryPath || null,
+      theme: p.theme as 'default' | 'green',
+      menu_order: p.menu_order,
+      translations: tByPage.get(p.id) ?? []
+    }
+  })
 
   return { pages: out, nextCursor }
 }
@@ -175,42 +189,50 @@ export interface FullPage {
   page: Page
   translations: PageTranslation[]
   category_slug: string | null
+  category_path: string | null
+  url: string
 }
 
 export async function getCmsPage(input: { id?: string; slug?: string }): Promise<FullPage | null> {
-  let pageQuery = db.selectFrom('pages').selectAll()
-  if (input.id) pageQuery = pageQuery.where('id', '=', input.id)
-  else if (input.slug) pageQuery = pageQuery.where('slug', '=', input.slug)
-  else return null
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
 
-  const page = await pageQuery.executeTakeFirst()
+  let page: Page | undefined
+  if (input.id) {
+    page = await db.selectFrom('pages').selectAll().where('id', '=', input.id).executeTakeFirst()
+  } else if (input.slug) {
+    // Resolve the slug as a full URL path ("resources/overview") against
+    // the category tree so a leaf that repeats across categories is
+    // unambiguous. A bare leaf ("privacy") resolves to an uncategorized
+    // page; a path that ends on a category (no trailing page) is not a
+    // page lookup and returns null.
+    const segments = input.slug.replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '').split('/').filter(Boolean)
+    if (segments.length === 0) return null
+    const { category, remaining } = walkCategorySegments(tree, segments)
+    if (remaining.length !== 1) return null
+    page = (await findPageInCategory(category?.id ?? null, remaining[0]!)) ?? undefined
+  } else {
+    return null
+  }
   if (!page) return null
 
-  const [translations, category] = await Promise.all([
-    db
-      .selectFrom('page_translations')
-      .selectAll()
-      .where('page_id', '=', page.id)
-      .orderBy('locale', 'asc')
-      .execute(),
-    page.category_id
-      ? db
-          .selectFrom('categories')
-          .select('slug')
-          .where('id', '=', page.category_id)
-          .executeTakeFirst()
-      : Promise.resolve(null)
-  ])
+  const translations = await db
+    .selectFrom('page_translations')
+    .selectAll()
+    .where('page_id', '=', page.id)
+    .orderBy('locale', 'asc')
+    .execute()
 
+  const categoryPath = page.category_id ? categoryUrlPath(tree, page.category_id) : null
+  const categorySlug = page.category_id ? (tree.byId.get(page.category_id)?.slug ?? null) : null
   return {
     page,
     translations,
-    category_slug: category?.slug ?? null
+    category_slug: categorySlug,
+    category_path: categoryPath || null,
+    url: pageUrlPath(tree, page)
   }
 }
 
-// Validates a slug shape and uniqueness. Throws an H3-shaped error so
-// the MCP layer's mcpError mapper can translate to a clean response.
 function err(statusCode: number, message: string): H3Error {
   return Object.assign(new Error(message), {
     statusCode,
@@ -219,62 +241,53 @@ function err(statusCode: number, message: string): H3Error {
   }) as unknown as H3Error
 }
 
-// Normalize slug input: trim whitespace, strip leading/trailing
-// slashes. Single source of truth — admin routes and MCP tools both
-// pass raw input; services normalize before validating. Empty result
-// passes through; the regex check downstream rejects empty strings.
+// Normalize slug input: trim whitespace, strip any slashes (slugs are
+// leaves — slashes were valid only in the old prefix-as-slug model).
 export function normalizeSlugInput(raw: string | null | undefined): string {
-  return (raw ?? '').trim().replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '')
+  return (raw ?? '').trim().replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '').replace(/\/+/g, '-')
 }
 
-// Pass an `executor` (a Kysely transaction handle) when validation
-// is part of a larger atomic operation — the read-side category
-// existence/prefix check and the page-slug-uniqueness check then
-// run on the same connection as the subsequent insert/update, so
-// a concurrent category rename or page-slug change can't slip
-// between validation and write.
+// Validates a leaf slug: shape, no collision with a sibling category
+// at the same level (a category and a page can't share a leaf because
+// `/parent/leaf` would be ambiguous), and no collision with another
+// page in the same category.
 export async function validatePageSlug(
   slug: string,
   opts: { categoryId: string | null; excludePageId?: string },
   executor: Kysely<Database> = db
 ): Promise<void> {
-  if (!/^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9/-]*$/.test(slug)) {
-    throw err(400, 'slug must be lowercase letters, digits, dashes, and slashes')
-  }
-  if (slug.endsWith('/')) {
-    throw err(400, 'slug cannot end with /')
-  }
-  if (opts.categoryId) {
-    const category = await executor
-      .selectFrom('categories')
-      .select(['slug'])
-      .where('id', '=', opts.categoryId)
-      .executeTakeFirst()
-    if (!category) throw err(400, 'Category not found')
-    if (!slug.startsWith(`${category.slug}/`)) {
-      throw err(400, `Slug must start with "${category.slug}/"`)
-    }
-  } else {
-    const collidingCategory = await executor
-      .selectFrom('categories')
-      .select('id')
-      .where('slug', '=', slug)
-      .executeTakeFirst()
-    if (collidingCategory) {
-      throw err(409, `"${slug}" is already used by a category.`)
-    }
+  if (!/^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$/.test(slug)) {
+    throw err(400, 'slug must be lowercase letters, digits, and dashes (no slashes)')
   }
 
+  // Sibling-category collision: a category whose `parent_id` matches
+  // this page's category would render at the same URL level.
+  let categoryQuery = executor
+    .selectFrom('categories')
+    .select('id')
+    .where('slug', '=', slug)
+  categoryQuery = opts.categoryId === null
+    ? categoryQuery.where('parent_id', 'is', null)
+    : categoryQuery.where('parent_id', '=', opts.categoryId)
+  const collidingCategory = await categoryQuery.executeTakeFirst()
+  if (collidingCategory) {
+    throw err(409, `"${slug}" is already used by a category at this level.`)
+  }
+
+  // Sibling-page collision in the same category.
   let pageQuery = executor
     .selectFrom('pages')
     .select('id')
     .where('slug', '=', slug)
+  pageQuery = opts.categoryId === null
+    ? pageQuery.where('category_id', 'is', null)
+    : pageQuery.where('category_id', '=', opts.categoryId)
   if (opts.excludePageId) {
     pageQuery = pageQuery.where('id', '!=', opts.excludePageId)
   }
   const collidingPage = await pageQuery.executeTakeFirst()
   if (collidingPage) {
-    throw err(409, 'A page with that slug already exists')
+    throw err(409, 'A page with that slug already exists in this category')
   }
 }
 
@@ -297,18 +310,8 @@ export interface CreatePageInput {
   }
 }
 
-// Creates a page (and optionally an inline initial translation) in a
-// single transaction. The audit hook receives the transaction's
-// executor; callers (admin routes, MCP tools) are expected to pass a
-// `throwOnError: true` to logEvent (or use mcpLog, which does this
-// automatically when an executor is provided) so an audit-insert
-// failure inside the transaction rolls back the page insert.
 export interface CreateCmsPageAuditContext {
   pageId: string
-  // The translation row id, set only when an inline translation was
-  // created in the same transaction. Lets callers emit a separate
-  // CREATE event on page_translations keyed by the actual row id so
-  // audit-log greps on `record_id` find the translation.
   translationId: string | null
 }
 
@@ -323,15 +326,17 @@ export async function createCmsPage(
       throw err(400, 'locale is not enabled')
     }
   }
-  // Use the normalized form everywhere downstream — input.slug never
-  // touches the DB after this point.
   input = { ...input, slug }
 
   const result = await db.transaction().execute(async (tx) => {
-    // Validate the slug inside the transaction so the category-prefix
-    // check and slug-uniqueness check run on the same connection as
-    // the insert. Without this a concurrent category rename could
-    // change the prefix between validation and write.
+    if (input.category_id) {
+      const cat = await tx
+        .selectFrom('categories')
+        .select('id')
+        .where('id', '=', input.category_id)
+        .executeTakeFirst()
+      if (!cat) throw err(400, 'Category not found')
+    }
     await validatePageSlug(slug, { categoryId: input.category_id ?? null }, tx)
 
     // New pages append to the bottom of their category. When the caller
@@ -386,7 +391,11 @@ export async function createCmsPage(
     return { page, translation }
   })
 
-  const slugsToPurge = [result.page.slug]
+  // Compute the full public URL so the cache layer purges by the same
+  // key the lookup endpoint writes (full path, hex-encoded).
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const url = pageUrlPath(tree, result.page)
+  const slugsToPurge = [url]
   const categoriesToPurge: string[] = []
   if (result.page.category_id) categoriesToPurge.push(result.page.category_id)
 
@@ -410,13 +419,6 @@ export interface UpdatePageResult {
 }
 
 export async function updateCmsPage(input: UpdatePageInput): Promise<UpdatePageResult> {
-  // Wrap reads + slug validation + UPDATE in one transaction so a
-  // concurrent rename of the source or target category — or a
-  // concurrent slug change on another page — can't slip between the
-  // category-prefix calculation and the row write. The bare-UPDATE
-  // version that lived here briefly had a race window where the
-  // page would commit with a stale prefix relative to the category's
-  // current slug.
   return await db.transaction().execute(async (tx) => {
     const existing = await tx
       .selectFrom('pages')
@@ -425,7 +427,12 @@ export async function updateCmsPage(input: UpdatePageInput): Promise<UpdatePageR
       .executeTakeFirst()
     if (!existing) throw err(404, 'Page not found')
 
-    const slugsToPurge = new Set<string>([existing.slug])
+    // Snapshot the page's current full URL before any changes so we
+    // can purge the old key after the update commits.
+    const treeBefore = await loadCategoryTree(tx)
+    const oldUrl = pageUrlPath(treeBefore, existing)
+
+    const slugsToPurge = new Set<string>([oldUrl])
     const categoriesToPurge = new Set<string>()
     const changes: Record<string, unknown> = {}
 
@@ -437,40 +444,30 @@ export async function updateCmsPage(input: UpdatePageInput): Promise<UpdatePageR
     let finalSlug = existing.slug
     if (input.slug !== undefined) {
       finalSlug = normalizeSlugInput(input.slug)
-    } else if (input.category_id !== undefined && finalCategoryId !== existing.category_id) {
-      // Category change without slug change: rewrite the prefix.
-      let leaf = existing.slug
-      if (existing.category_id) {
-        const oldCat = await tx
-          .selectFrom('categories')
-          .select('slug')
-          .where('id', '=', existing.category_id)
-          .executeTakeFirst()
-        if (oldCat && existing.slug.startsWith(`${oldCat.slug}/`)) {
-          leaf = existing.slug.slice(oldCat.slug.length + 1)
-        }
-      }
-      if (finalCategoryId) {
-        const newCat = await tx
-          .selectFrom('categories')
-          .select('slug')
-          .where('id', '=', finalCategoryId)
-          .executeTakeFirst()
-        if (!newCat) throw err(400, 'Category not found')
-        finalSlug = `${newCat.slug}/${leaf}`
-      } else {
-        finalSlug = leaf
-      }
     }
 
     if (finalSlug !== existing.slug) {
-      await validatePageSlug(finalSlug, { categoryId: finalCategoryId, excludePageId: input.id }, tx)
       changes.slug = finalSlug
     }
     if (finalCategoryId !== existing.category_id) {
       changes.category_id = finalCategoryId
     }
 
+    // Validate the (slug, category) pair when either changed. Done in
+    // the same transaction so a concurrent rename can't slip between
+    // validation and write.
+    if (changes.slug !== undefined || changes.category_id !== undefined) {
+      if (finalCategoryId) {
+        const cat = await tx
+          .selectFrom('categories')
+          .select('id')
+          .where('id', '=', finalCategoryId)
+          .executeTakeFirst()
+        if (!cat) throw err(400, 'Category not found')
+      }
+      await validatePageSlug(finalSlug, { categoryId: finalCategoryId, excludePageId: input.id }, tx)
+    }
+
     if (input.menu_order !== undefined && input.menu_order !== existing.menu_order) {
       changes.menu_order = input.menu_order
     }
@@ -497,7 +494,8 @@ export async function updateCmsPage(input: UpdatePageInput): Promise<UpdatePageR
       .returningAll()
       .executeTakeFirstOrThrow()
 
-    slugsToPurge.add(updated.slug)
+    const treeAfter = await loadCategoryTree(tx)
+    slugsToPurge.add(pageUrlPath(treeAfter, updated))
     if (updated.slug !== existing.slug || updated.menu_order !== existing.menu_order || updated.category_id !== existing.category_id) {
       if (existing.category_id) categoriesToPurge.add(existing.category_id)
       if (updated.category_id) categoriesToPurge.add(updated.category_id)
@@ -512,7 +510,7 @@ export async function updateCmsPage(input: UpdatePageInput): Promise<UpdatePageR
   })
 }
 
-export async function deleteCmsPage(id: string): Promise<{ slug: string; categoryId: string | null }> {
+export async function deleteCmsPage(id: string): Promise<{ slug: string; url: string; categoryId: string | null }> {
   const existing = await db
     .selectFrom('pages')
     .select(['id', 'slug', 'category_id'])
@@ -520,14 +518,14 @@ export async function deleteCmsPage(id: string): Promise<{ slug: string; categor
     .executeTakeFirst()
   if (!existing) throw err(404, 'Page not found')
 
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const url = pageUrlPath(tree, existing)
+
   await db.deleteFrom('pages').where('id', '=', id).execute()
-  return { slug: existing.slug, categoryId: existing.category_id }
+  return { slug: existing.slug, url, categoryId: existing.category_id }
 }
 
 export async function applyPageInvalidations(slugs: string[], categoryIds: string[]): Promise<void> {
   await Promise.all(slugs.map(s => purgeCmsPage(s)))
-  // Skip the slugs we just purged from the category-sibling fan-out;
-  // otherwise purgeCmsCategory enumerates every member (including the
-  // page we already touched) and re-purges keys for no benefit.
   await Promise.all(categoryIds.map(id => purgeCmsCategory(id, slugs)))
 }
diff --git a/server/services/cmsTranslate.ts b/server/services/cmsTranslate.ts
index 7dade03e..04d6885e 100644
--- a/server/services/cmsTranslate.ts
+++ b/server/services/cmsTranslate.ts
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ export async function translatePage(input: TranslatePageInput): Promise<Translat
       // keeps the invalidation contract identical to admin's pre-
       // unification behavior — locales that errored or were skipped
       // never had their cache touched.
-      await applyTranslationInvalidations(upserted.pageSlug, upserted.categoryId, target)
+      await applyTranslationInvalidations(upserted.pageUrl, upserted.categoryId, target)
 
       results.push({ locale: target, ok: true })
     } catch (e: unknown) {
diff --git a/server/services/cmsTranslations.ts b/server/services/cmsTranslations.ts
index 9bdb7d09..1a0d3b71 100644
--- a/server/services/cmsTranslations.ts
+++ b/server/services/cmsTranslations.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { detectLossy } from '../utils/tiptapLossyDetector'
 import { tiptapValidate, type SanitizationWarning } from '../utils/tiptapValidate'
 import { markdownToTiptap } from '../utils/tiptapFromMarkdown'
 import { isSafeHttpUrl as isSafeUrl } from '../utils/urlValidation'
+import { loadCategoryTree, pageUrlPath } from '../database/categoryTree'
 
 function err(statusCode: number, message: string, extra?: Record<string, unknown>): H3Error {
   return Object.assign(new Error(message), {
@@ -44,11 +45,12 @@ export interface UpsertTranslationInput {
 
 export interface UpsertTranslationResult {
   translation: PageTranslation
+  // Full public URL path (no leading slash), e.g. "resources/adoption/overview".
+  // Cache purge keys are URL-based, so callers pass this through to
+  // `applyTranslationInvalidations` rather than the raw leaf slug.
+  pageUrl: string
   pageSlug: string
   categoryId: string | null
-  // True iff the input came in as Markdown and the existing body was
-  // lossy-in-markdown but allow_lossy_overwrite was set — the caller
-  // should log an mcp.lossy_overwrite event with the dropped reasons.
   lossyOverwriteApplied: boolean
   droppedReasons: string[]
   // Sanitizer notes from tiptapValidate — attrs/marks/nodes that were
@@ -202,8 +204,10 @@ export async function upsertCmsPageTranslation(input: UpsertTranslationInput): P
     })
   }
 
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
   return {
     translation,
+    pageUrl: pageUrlPath(tree, page),
     pageSlug: page.slug,
     categoryId: page.category_id,
     lossyOverwriteApplied,
@@ -226,7 +230,7 @@ export async function setCmsTranslationStatus(input: {
   page_id: string
   locale: string
   status: 'draft' | 'published'
-}): Promise<{ translation: PageTranslation; pageSlug: string; categoryId: string | null }> {
+}): Promise<{ translation: PageTranslation; pageUrl: string; pageSlug: string; categoryId: string | null }> {
   if (!ENABLED_LANGUAGE_CODES.includes(input.locale)) {
     throw err(400, 'locale is not enabled')
   }
@@ -248,11 +252,14 @@ export async function setCmsTranslationStatus(input: {
 
   if (!updated) throw err(404, 'Translation not found')
 
-  return { translation: updated, pageSlug: page.slug, categoryId: page.category_id }
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  return { translation: updated, pageUrl: pageUrlPath(tree, page), pageSlug: page.slug, categoryId: page.category_id }
 }
 
-export async function applyTranslationInvalidations(slug: string, categoryId: string | null, locale?: string): Promise<void> {
-  await purgeCmsPage(slug, locale ? [locale] : undefined)
-  if (categoryId) await purgeCmsCategory(categoryId, slug)
+// `url` is the full public URL path (no leading slash) — same string
+// the lookup endpoint uses as its cache key suffix.
+export async function applyTranslationInvalidations(url: string, categoryId: string | null, locale?: string): Promise<void> {
+  await purgeCmsPage(url, locale ? [locale] : undefined)
+  if (categoryId) await purgeCmsCategory(categoryId, url)
 }
 
diff --git a/server/utils/cmsCache.ts b/server/utils/cmsCache.ts
index 92558e8d..c934d7a9 100644
--- a/server/utils/cmsCache.ts
+++ b/server/utils/cmsCache.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,13 @@
 
 import { ENABLED_LANGUAGE_CODES } from '~~/config/languages'
 import { db } from './database'
+import {
+  loadCategoryTree,
+  categoryChain,
+  descendantCategoryIds,
+  pageUrlPath,
+  categoryUrlPath
+} from '../database/categoryTree'
 
 // Key format matches what defineCachedEventHandler writes in
 // server/api/pages/[...slug].get.ts. Nitro composes
@@ -29,30 +36,49 @@ export async function purgeCmsPage(slug: string, locales?: string[]) {
   )
 }
 
-// Purge every page in a category across all locales. Needed whenever a
-// field that leaks into a sibling's cached response changes — titles,
-// excerpts, featured images (all embedded in `children[]`) and
-// menu_order (alters sibling sort order). `excludeSlugs` lets the
-// caller skip pages whose entries were already purged independently
-// (avoids duplicate removeItem calls + lets `applyPageInvalidations`
-// pass the page-being-modified's slug — and its old slug, on a
-// category move — through).
+// Purge every cached page across a category's whole top-level subtree,
+// in all locales. Needed whenever a field that leaks into another cached
+// response changes — titles, excerpts, featured images (embedded in
+// `children[]` and the landing grid), menu_order (sort order), or a
+// page's published state (whether a category appears in the menu/grid at
+// all). The sidebar nav tree and the landing-page grids span the entire
+// top-level subtree — every page under `/resources` shares one nav, and
+// ancestor landings list their descendants — so the invalidation has to
+// reach from the top-level ancestor down, not just this category's own
+// subtree.
+//
+// `excludeUrls` skips entries already purged by the caller (avoids
+// duplicate removeItem calls when `applyPageInvalidations` already
+// handled the page-being-modified's old + new URL).
 export async function purgeCmsCategory(
   categoryId: string,
-  excludeSlugs?: string | ReadonlyArray<string>
+  excludeUrls?: string | ReadonlyArray<string>
 ): Promise<void> {
   const skip = new Set<string>(
-    excludeSlugs === undefined
+    excludeUrls === undefined
       ? []
-      : (typeof excludeSlugs === 'string' ? [excludeSlugs] : excludeSlugs)
+      : (typeof excludeUrls === 'string' ? [excludeUrls] : excludeUrls)
   )
+  const tree = await loadCategoryTree()
+  const chain = categoryChain(tree, categoryId)
+  const rootId = chain[0]?.id ?? categoryId
+  const subtreeIds = descendantCategoryIds(tree, rootId)
+  if (subtreeIds.length === 0) return
   const rows = await db
     .selectFrom('pages')
-    .select('slug')
-    .where('category_id', '=', categoryId)
+    .select(['slug', 'category_id'])
+    .where('category_id', 'in', subtreeIds)
     .execute()
-  const slugs = rows.map(r => r.slug).filter(s => !skip.has(s))
-  await Promise.all(slugs.map(s => purgeCmsPage(s)))
+  const urls = new Set<string>()
+  for (const r of rows) urls.add(pageUrlPath(tree, r))
+  // Bare-category landings cache too (e.g. `/resources` resolves
+  // through getCategoryDefaultPage); purge them along with the pages.
+  for (const cid of subtreeIds) {
+    const path = categoryUrlPath(tree, cid)
+    if (path) urls.add(path)
+  }
+  const targets = [...urls].filter(u => !skip.has(u))
+  await Promise.all(targets.map(u => purgeCmsPage(u)))
 }
 
 // Wipe every cached CMS page response. Used by the admin "Flush Cache"