What's the difference between forward vs reverse proxy? Which one should I use? Alternatively, if you prefer

Yep, you nailed the basics! One extra nugget: reverse proxies are *gold* for caching.

Like, slap Varnish in front of your server, and boom—faster loads. Forward proxies don’t usually do that.

Also, security-wise:
Forward = hide clients
Reverse = hide servers

Tools? Traefik for reverse, Privoxy for forward (if you’re into lightweight stuff).