Node.js, a popular JavaScript runtime, has gained significant traction as a server-side technology due to JavaScript's widespread use and developer familiarity. However, transitioning from compiled languages to Node.js can lead to poor deployment practices, such as directly pulling code from GitHub and encountering issues with dependency versioning due to the semver range in packages.json. These practices can cause unintended production issues, like running untested dependencies and facing deployment failures if npm servers are down. To mitigate these problems, it is recommended to package Node.js applications like compiled languages, using tools like Octopus Deploy's octojs CLI to create deployable artifacts. This approach involves installing production dependencies, building the application once on a build server, and packaging it for consistent deployment across environments, ensuring stability and reliability in continuous delivery pipelines.