You don’t really need to know a specific language to self-host anything. But things like YAML, JSON, Docker, and some networking basic will go a long way.

If I could do anything different though, it would definitely be to write more documentation. Document the steps taking setting things up, log notes on when you have to fix something, archive webpages and videos that you used along the way. Currently doing that myself now after some time self-hosting.

Same

I personally prefer consistent and smaller releases. It offers less opportunity for big bugs to creep in along with smaller fixes and features.

I saw agile mentioned here but here’s another suggestion. Agile can be helpful in the right situations but for solo devs/tiny teams, I really recommend looking into Basecamps “Shape Up” method. It uses longer cycles vs shorter sprints with a cool down period in between.

So in the case of OP, they could set a 6 week cycle and plan for things that can definitely be completed during that time period. Right at the end of the cycle you release. The goal is to finish before the cooldown to give yourself time to breathe and plan what to do for your next cycle. Play around with a fun feature, learn about a new tool or technique you wanna try, organizing your backlog, etc. You don’t want to spill tasks into the cooldown. Else it’s not a cooldown.

The online version of the Shape Up book is free and can be found here.