Way before delivery apps made it possible to have almost any type of food delivered to your door, delivery pizza was incredibly popular. It's still so wonderful to open your door to a hot, steaming pizza. But what separates a good delivery pizza from a great one? Often, it is the way you go about ordering it. Here are some tips for ordering delivery pizza when you want to have a next-level experience.

Order straight from the restaurant.

Third-party food delivery apps now make it possible to order pizza even from restaurants that do not typically offer delivery. However, you are best off ordering from a restaurant that does their own delivery. Call the restaurant and order directly from them. Ordering directly ensures the restaurant has more control over the process by which your pizza is made. Restaurants that handle their own delivery also tend to be better set up to do a good job of it. They may, for example, have taken the time to experiment with different packaging and find a package that works best with their pizza. Or, they may have taught their drivers how to avoid tilting the pizza sideways while driving. Restaurants that only let delivery app workers pick up their food are less likely to be taking these other steps; their pizza is probably specialized towards in-house dining.

Stick with toppings you know you like.

This is not the best time to experiment with new toppings you've never tried before. When a pizza is all wrapped up in a delivery box for the drive to your house, the steam gets trapped in the box. The flavors of the various toppings tend to meld together even more.  If you don't like the flavor of one of the toppings, your whole pizza might taste like it. So, you're best off sticking with toppings you know and love. Try something new when you eat pizza at the restaurant.

Confirm the address.

You don't want the driver to miss your house, or to drive around for 10 minutes looking for it. Confirm the address when you call to place the order and make sure your house number is visible. If your home is hard to see, consider standing outside so you can flag down the delivery driver. Your pizza might be fresher.

With the tips above, you can have an excellent pizza delivery experience. Enjoy your meal, and remember to tip your driver.

To get started, contact a pizza delivery service in your area.