I have been cooking delicious pizzas for a while now, and I have picked up a few tips on the way that have really made life much easier for me, and the quality of my pizza much better. Here are a few of my top tips for aspiring pizza chefs.

1. Fresh ingredients. This goes for most forms of cooking. If the ingredients you are using are from a freezer, the flavours you can achieve are not going to be as great. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, use fresh ingredients.
2. Getting the base right. Every oven is different, so it is hard to give exact temperatures for every situation, but there is nothing worse than a pizza with an undercooked base. If you are unsure about the heat of your oven, and want to avoid disaster, I find it’s often better to bake the base without toppings for a while to ensure it is cooked, then add toppings and cook until crispy.
3. Adventure. Maybe ham and pineapple pizza is your thing, I happen to be a bit of a fan of the straight Hawaiian pizza, but I also know the joy that can be achieved by trying new things, and being adventurous with your recipes. If a flavor tastes good in other food, chances are it will also make a good pizza. Experiment with some of your favorite flavors and meals, and see if you can create a pizza recipe that incorporates them.
4. Saucy! If you are a novice all the recipes to create different pastes and sauces on this site might look a little daunting. Don’t be limited to these. Most supermarkets provide a pretty tasty pizza paste which you can use for your sauce. Or even better, venture into the sauce isle at your supermarket, plenty of standard sauces make great pizza pastes. Satay, and cranberry both go very well with chicken.
5. Try a pizza stone. If you cook a lot of pizza like I do, you might want to buy a pizza stone. They make a great base, even crunchier, and as they distribute the heat so evenly through the whole base, you get a nice consistent base, great for picking up.

Here’s a great video with some more great tips: