Importance of landing page?

100% a Landing page helps, it helps you communiate exactly what your app does and how it works, and any USPs it may have over the competition. it also helps converting a user that might not think they would need an app like this. Hope this helps :)

Cheers

Definitely include a landing page, as others have mentioned, it's similar to packaging.
Including a live demo without requiring any credentials is also a great fit for this idea, perhaps instead of 'get started' you could mark 'try the demo' to make that clear.

I thought this was a genius landing page, but I am a technical person. Ironically I wouldn't myself use your product since I am quite proficient at SQL and can describe what I want to see in SQL faster than I can describe it in English, but I messaged the URL to my PM who needs ReTool to build views of our database.

100% use a landing page. I went to the app and was like... "what's this? why does it matter"?

What landing pages allow you to do is to tell people why your app makes their lives better. You sell them (even if you're not charging) so they can understand your value!

I do this on the GapScout homepage... notice that it's not feature focused, but benefit focused. This is what a landing page does for you.

That, and you can start to collect emails from ppl who use your app, and that's the most valuable thing you can get (besides a purchase) from your landing page.

As for the landing page, it's pretty good but focuses a lot on the WHAT and not the WHY. Why do I want to use it ("what's in it for me").

Hi!
Funny, I just posted about my landing page too a few seconds ago haha

So, here is why it's not only important but essential: You want people to understand what your app does.
It's like opening a new physical product's box: It give you an idea of what to expect.

If you give a weird electronic device to a non tech-savvy person without any context, he'll be confused, and will probably lose interest quickly.

If you tell him "This is X and it does Y" he already understand better, and might even be interested.

It's the same here. Showing your product directly without any context will likely scare people away and turn them off from you product.

A landing page is a nice and soft way to introduce your product to your users, and slowly engage them. Instead of putting the puzzle pieces in their hand, just give them the puzzle box and let them open it at their rhythm!

And remember, people don't buy features (rational), they buy benefits (emotional)!

I wrote this guide on IH the other day about landing page, maybe it could help!