re: How hard is it to DIY a wooden privacy fence?

Here's my 2 cents.

Wood rots when it gets wet. Wood posts eventually rot and snap at ground level. Digging up the concrete footing to replace a post is a huge pain in the arse. For that reason, I always use steel posts. It's worth the extra cost. I also use what they call a kick board or rot board, so you can get the pickets up off the ground and away from your weed eater.

Don't pick an arbitrary number for the distance between your posts. Pros put them every 8' because rails come in 8' lengths. Do some math. If you need 90' of fence, that's twelve 7.5' panels. 60' feet of fence is eight 7.5' panels.

If you have to rent and a nail gun and compressor, it is cheaper to use screws. People say ring shank nails wont back out, but they do. Screws wont.

A fence built out of cedar with steel posts, screws and a rot board will be exceptionally strong and last a very long time.