It's a side project. Appreciate the function over the form. Could you design something that looks as 'good' as HN? If you're judging your side project as if it's a product for sale, then it's more of a side hustle and you should find a designer. Even then you could still get the functional parts working that could then be made more pleasing. If the problem is also structuring the UX, then try to get better at it, or again find someone to work with.
I myself am a back-end dev and have not let plain/simple UIs detract me from launching a product. I've done it a few times, but I never put in the marketing/sales effort to carry it. My shortcoming was being motivated in that 'side of the business'. If possible find someone to work with who also has that unless you can take that role too.
Last thing to consider is why you're working on the side projects. If it's to learn, then keep doing it and get better at all aspects you find interesting or important. If it's to make money be realistic as to what that requires and either put in the time/effort/learning or partner up.
The best situation is that you're solving a problem for target users where if the product works at all, they will gladly pay to use the product regardless of how it looks. Think of what internal tools at a company look like, usually very utilitarian. This can also work for the right customers. The rule of thumb is to think of what your target customers ~want~ *need* first, rather than make a product then look for customers without knowing specifically what they want or why. That's to say make sure it's specialized for them and choose the 'them' that you want to serve first. If you find out they have an even bigger problem, you should solve that, rather than pass and look for customers that want the product you built. If a customer's hair's on fire, they won't pause and reconsider because of the color of the blanket that can put it out.