Mobile Dealer Portal: App, PWA or Responsive Website
Contents
Dealers increasingly place orders not from the office, but from a warehouse, store, or job site. If the portal is awkward on a phone, the order will go to a messaging app. The question is which mobile format to choose: a standalone app, a progressive web app, or a responsive website.
What use cases are needed on a phone
Not all portal features are equally important on mobile. Most often, from a phone, dealers:
- repeat a previous order;
- check the price and stock of a specific product;
- view order status;
- open an invoice or reconciliation statement;
- scan a product barcode on a shelf to reorder;
- receive notifications about stock arrivals and shipments.
Uploading large Excel files, working with reports, and configuring user settings are more often done from a computer.
Three formats
| Format | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Responsive portal | Single codebase, faster and cheaper, no app stores | Limited notifications, no home screen icon by default |
| PWA (web app) | Installs on the home screen, works faster, supports notifications on most devices | Limitations on some iOS versions, fewer features than a native app |
| Native app | Camera, scanner, offline mode, full push notifications | More expensive, app store publishing, separate maintenance |
How to choose
A responsive portal is enough if dealers mainly work from a computer and only check statuses and documents from a phone.
A PWA is a good fit if you need a home screen icon, quick reordering, and notifications, but do not need complex offline functionality.
A native app is justified if:
- dealers or their employees work on the sales floor and scan barcodes;
- offline operation is needed in warehouses and on job sites;
- notifications are critical for sales;
- the audience is large, with hundreds of active users.
What matters in a mobile portal
- Reordering on the first screen. The most common scenario should take one or two taps.
- Search with a scanner. The phone camera reads the barcode and immediately shows the product, price, and stock level.
- A cart that never gets lost. An order started on a phone can be finished on a computer.
- Lightweight documents. Invoices and reconciliation statements open as PDFs without complex tables.
- Relevant notifications: shipment, arrival of expected stock, outstanding balance. Not advertising.
Technically: one API for everything
Proper architecture: the portal has an API that powers both the web portal and the mobile app. Pricing logic, limits, and orders are unified, with a single integration for 1C or MoySklad. This keeps the app from turning into a separate project with its own bugs.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a mobile app for dealers cost?
It depends on the features and platforms. If the portal API already exists, an app is noticeably cheaper than building one from scratch.
Do you need to publish the app in app stores?
For a native app, yes. For a closed B2B circle, there are enterprise distribution options, but they are more complex for users.
Can you build a PWA first and an app later?
Yes, this is a sensible path if both run on the same API.
