How we choose and check listings

Who is listed

We list established, independently owned businesses in Houma and the towns this guide covers. Each one has its own website and a published phone number, has been operating since 2024 or earlier, and has a storefront, an office or a licensed trade.

We look at every business on its own. Nothing is sampled, and nothing is added in bulk.

Who is not listed

We do not list chains, franchises, government offices, schools, colleges, hospitals, churches or other religious organizations, nonprofits, banks, real estate agents, bars and nightclubs, or hotels and motels.

We also leave out businesses in adult content, firearms, cannabis and vaping, gambling, payday and title loans, bail bonds, debt collection and politics, and web design, marketing, SEO and video firms, because that is our own line of work.

Where the details come from

Every detail on a listing, such as its services, hours, license number or founding year, comes from the business's own website, and we keep the address of the page it came from.

A second, separate public source confirms that the business exists, its name and its location: a chamber of commerce directory, a state license record, OpenStreetMap or local press. We never use reviews, ratings or review counts from anyone.

How we check

Every detail is checked no more than 30 days before a listing is published. Each month we check that every listed website still works and has not announced a closure, and every 90 days we check each listing again in full.

A listing that fails a check is hidden until it is fixed. Hours are shown only when they were checked in the last 30 days, and a license number only when the state's own lookup showed it active.

Photos

Every listing shows a real photo of that business, with a credit. Most photos come from the business's own website and link to the page they came from. A few may be photos the business sent us, or openly licensed photos of its premises from Wikimedia Commons. We do not use stock photos, AI-generated or AI-edited images, website screenshots, or photos from review sites, map services or social networks.

Photos of Houma and its towns come from Wikimedia Commons and similar libraries under their licenses, with the photographer credited. Every credit is listed on the credits page, and any photo comes down on request.

No paid placement and no ratings

Nobody can pay to be listed or to appear higher. Lists are in A to Z order unless you choose another order.

We do not rate, rank or review businesses. The businesses shown on the home page change every week; they are a rotating selection, not a ranking.

Corrections and removals

Any business can ask us to correct its listing, or to remove it with no reason and no proof needed. Removals are done within 2 business days, and a removed business is never listed again. See listing help.