Self-hosting doesn’t have to start with the perfect setup. A single cloud server, one application, or a use case that’s truly important to you is enough to get started. Most complex setups began exactly this way—teams learned from their mistakes and grew their setups over time. With Hetzner Cloud, the path from zero to your first application up and running is shorter than you think and therefore the product is ideal for getting started. For full control and root access, you can set up an affordable dedicated server from the Server Auction. Simply order it, install the operating system, and connect. You can find detailed documentation for cloud here and for dedicated servers here.

One of the most important steps to take right after installation is to set up a firewall that only opens the ports you actually need, and a tool like Fail2Ban that automatically blocks IP addresses that repeatedly attempt to log in with incorrect credentials. This may sound technical, but it’s a crucial step in preventing your server from becoming a target of automated attacks within hours. In the Hetzner Community, you’ll find step-by-step guides that walk you through this process without requiring you to be a security expert.

One vital tip from developers: Set up your backups right from the start; otherwise, it always leads to problems. Our rule: Before your first production application goes live, make sure your backup is up and running, and test your restore before you need it. We offer automated backup features right in the Hetzner Console. Coolify comes with its own backup options, and if you want to do it the right way, combine that with a Storage Box as an external destination.

Self-hosting also means taking responsibility for your own setup. So you need to know what’s happening on your server at all times. SSL certificates that expire unnoticed, services that go down without anyone realizing it, storage space that quietly fills up—monitoring is there to prevent these issues. Set up notifications right from the start. You can read how to do that here. Trust us, you’ll sleep better.

After three months, you might not remember exactly why you set that particular configuration the way you did—and after a year, you’ll definitely have forgotten. A simple text file, a private Git repo, or a Notion document will help you—trust us. It doesn’t have to be pretty; it just has to exist. That way, you can be sure that you will always fully understand your system.

And what if you do run into problems? More often than not, someone in the self-hosting community has already faced the same challenge and documented the solution—whether as a tutorial or an open-source tool on GitHub. Sharing knowledge and helping one another has always been a priority among self-hosters. Our own community offers numerous tutorials, ranging from initial server setup to complex multi-service configurations. This makes getting started with self-hosting a little easier and helps you feel less alone in the process. So what are you waiting for?