Novius

What Novius does

Novius is an independent French web agency founded in 1996 and headquartered in Villeurbanne (Lyon) with a second office in Paris, employing approximately 40 in-house experts across project management, development, design, and digital accessibility. The firm delivers custom website creation and redesign, e-commerce platforms (PrestaShop, Shopify, WooCommerce, and bespoke Laravel applications), RGAA digital accessibility audits and remediation, AI and process automation integration, digital strategy consulting, and sovereign French hosting and maintenance. Its technology stack spans Laravel (PHP) for complex bespoke applications and APIs, PrestaShop for complex e-commerce catalogues with proprietary Visual Composer and CMS modules, WordPress with Elementor for content-driven sites, and Shopify for SaaS e-commerce growth. Notable technical differentiators include proprietary PrestaShop tooling, the in-house Observatoire de l'accessibilité numérique benchmarking 212+ French companies, and sovereign French hosting infrastructure with 24/7 monitoring under the Novius Cloud division.

Novius generates revenue through professional services fees on fixed-price or time-and-materials contracts for project work, supplemented by recurring annual maintenance and hosting subscriptions. The go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, anchored by free 30-minute discovery meetings and an emphasis on long-term client relationships averaging 8–9 years (with several 10–15 year anchor relationships including FIS, La Cinémathèque Française, and Gerflor). Demand generation runs on content marketing, SEO, accessibility webinars, and referrals. The client base spans mid-sized and large enterprises (ETI/large accounts), cultural institutions, public sector and NGOs, and SMB e-commerce brands across France and select international projects, distributed across retail, media, sports federations, government, industrial, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Name

Novius

Legal name

Novius

Website

https://novius.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Novius is an independent French web agency (founded 1996, ~40 in-house experts, Lyon and Paris) building custom websites, e-commerce platforms (PrestaShop, Shopify, Laravel), RGAA accessibility audits, and sovereign hosting for French and international enterprise clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Development and Digital Agency Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAEAFAG

Enterprise Application Modernization (Monolith-to-Modules, Domain Modernization)

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/Application Development & Modernization

SECONDARYBPAEAIAA

Managed Workplace Services (DaaS/Workplace-as-a-Service)

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/Digital Workplace & End-User Computing Services

Keywords

• Custom web development
• E-commerce platform services
• Digital accessibility consulting
• Web design agency
• Sovereign web hosting

Headquarters

HQ city

Villeurbanne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Web Development & Design Services: Novius generates revenue primarily through professional services fees for custom web design, development, and digital strategy engagements. Projects are scoped and delivered as fixed-price or time-and-materials contracts, covering website creation, e-commerce, accessibility audits, digital consulting, and ongoing maintenance.
2. Maintenance & Hosting Services: Recurring revenue from annual maintenance contracts covering software updates, security patches, hosting on sovereign French infrastructure, and 24/7 monitoring.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Novius is an independent French web agency that designs, builds, and maintains custom websites, e-commerce platforms, and bespoke business applications for enterprises. The agency delivers end-to-end digital projects spanning UX design, development across Laravel, PrestaShop, WordPress, and Shopify stacks, AI integration, RGAA digital accessibility audits and remediation, and sovereign French hosting with 24/7 monitoring. It also operates an internal accessibility observatory benchmarking 200+ French companies.

Product overview

Novius is an independent French web agency founded in 1996, operating from Lyon and Paris, offering a comprehensive portfolio of web design, development, and digital strategy services. Its core service offering spans custom website creation and redesign, e-commerce development (via PrestaShop, Shopify, WooCommerce, and bespoke solutions), AI and automation integration, digital accessibility (RGAA audits and inclusive design), sovereign hosting and maintenance, and digital consulting. The agency also specializes in four primary technology platforms — Laravel (for complex bespoke applications), WordPress (for content-focused sites), PrestaShop (for complex e-commerce), and Shopify (for scalable e-commerce) — and has completed over 600 projects with a team of approximately 40 internal experts. Beyond client work, Novius operates its own accessibility research observatory tracking 200+ companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Website Design and Redesign (Création et refonte de sites web sur mesure) End-to-end custom website design, redesign, and development services including showcase sites, bespoke web applications, and business tools, with services spanning UX, architecture, and user journey design. Targeted at enterprises and ambitious organizations whose website is central to their business.
• E-commerce Platform Design and Development (Création et refonte de sites e-commerce) E-commerce platform design and development using PrestaShop, Shopify, WooCommerce, and custom solutions, focused on purchase experience and conversion optimization for consumer brands and B2C/B2B merchants.
• AI Integration and Automation (Intelligence artificielle & automatisation) Integration of AI into web projects, including custom chatbots and process automation. Novius accompanies clients on concrete AI projects rather than short-term experiments.
• Digital Accessibility and RGAA Audit Services (Agence Accessibilité numérique et audits RGAA) Digital accessibility services including RGAA compliance audits (simple, detailed, or complete), training, and responsible design for inclusive, accessible websites. Novius has analyzed over 200 companies through its observatoire.
• Maintenance and Sovereign Hosting (Maintenance et hébergement souverain) Continuous maintenance (security updates, bug fixes, technical evolution) and secure sovereign hosting in France with 24/7 monitoring, daily backups, and incident on-call support.
• Digital Consulting and Project Support (Conseil digital et accompagnement de projet web) Digital strategy consulting including needs assessment, competitive analysis, UX design, SEO and content strategy, and project management support for organizations undertaking web transformation projects.
• Shopify and Shopify Plus Development Services Shopify and Shopify Plus e-commerce platform specialization. Novius supports Shopify launches, refits, omnichannel setups, marketplace integration via Lengow, and internationalization, covering B2C and B2B catalogue complexities.
• PrestaShop Development Services PrestaShop open-source e-commerce specialization with custom Visual Composer, bespoke modules, ERP/PIM/CRM interconnection, and multi-language/multi-store configurations for complex catalogue structures.
• WordPress Development Services WordPress CMS specialization for content-focused websites (corporate, institutional, media, associations). Services include custom theme development, Elementor page building, Yoast SEO, and multilingual setup with Polylang/WPML.
• Laravel Development Services Laravel PHP framework development for complex projects exceeding standard CMS scope: business applications, data platforms, system interconnections (ERP/CRM/PIM), high-volume sites, and custom API/Webhook/orchestration builds.
• RGAA Audit Services (Three-Tiered Accessibility Audit) Three-tiered RGAA accessibility audit service: Simple (conformity score only), Detailed (causes and correction solutions per non-conformity), and Complete (in-depth analysis with contextualized recommendations for long-term compliance). Deliverables include a compliance grid, accessibility statement, and multi-year roadmap.

Quantifiable outcome

• 212 companies analysed through the Observatoire de l'accessibilité numérique, providing sector-level accessibility benchmarking.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers44 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration21 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• CustomRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCustomR served as the brand strategy and design agency for the CAREA Cuisine & Bain Shopify e-commerce project, designing the brand identity and Shopify theme directly within the Wonder theme. Novius handled technical implementation and engineering.
• La Société SecrètecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNovius partners with La Société Secrète on visual identity, brand storytelling, photography, and video production across client projects. Notable collaborations include Sauthon (content strategy and social media), Beer O'Clock (graphic concept), and Tigex (full brand redesign). The partnership enables Novius to offer integrated branding and web services.
• Les StratègesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNovius co-authored the Observatoire de l'accessibilité numérique en Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with Les Stratèges, a regional economic intelligence consultancy. The white paper covered 50 company accessibility audits across 8 sectors.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SQLI: France-based digital services group specialising in e-commerce, CRM, and digital experience, with strong PrestaShop and enterprise CMS practices. Formerly independent, now part of ALTEN Group; directly comparable on e-commerce platform builds and large enterprise web projects.
• Latitude (Groupe La Poste): French digital agency under Groupe La Poste focused on UX, design, and custom web development for enterprise clients. Comparable in service mix (custom development, e-commerce, design) and French enterprise focus.
• The LINQ Agency: French Shopify Plus and digital agency headquartered in Paris, focusing on e-commerce development and CRM/marketing automation. Comparable on Shopify specialism and B2B/B2C digital transformation projects.
• OpenStudio: Lyon-based French digital agency (~50 staff) offering web development, design, and e-commerce. Direct geographic peer to Novius in Lyon with similar service portfolio and SMB/enterprise client mix.
• Elcimai: Mid-sized French web and digital agency based in Lyon/Paris offering custom web development, e-commerce, and digital strategy. Strong local competitor with similar enterprise client profile and multi-stack approach.
• Smile: French open-source digital agency (now part of Eurazeo-backed Smile group) with deep expertise in PrestaShop, Drupal, WordPress, and Laravel. Closest direct comparable to Novius in terms of multi-stack open-source web development and French enterprise client base.
• Almavia: French digital agency specialising in web platforms, e-commerce, and digital transformation for mid-market and enterprise clients. Comparable in service portfolio and French enterprise focus.

Regional players

• Wib (formerly Webedia Studios): European digital agency group with operations across France, Belgium, and Switzerland. Comparable on custom web development, e-commerce, and CMS-driven enterprise platforms for mid-market clients.

Broad incumbents

• Capgemini Engineering: Global digital services and engineering firm with large French operations. While much larger and broader, it competes for the same large enterprise custom web and digital platform RFPs that Novius targets.

Emerging players

• PrestaShop Official Partners: Network of certified PrestaShop agencies across Europe. Novius competes directly with several top-tier partners (including in France) for complex PrestaShop e-commerce builds with ERP/PIM/CRM integrations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/noviusinfo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/noviusTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/noviusfr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novius_3
• Instagraminstagram.com/agencenovius

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novius