# Online pizza ordering systems: what a pizzeria actually needs

> Half-and-half toppings, delivery zones that don't lie, and commission maths that hit pizza harder than anyone. What to demand from a pizza ordering system in 2026.

Canonical: https://storekit.com/blog/online-pizza-ordering-system  
Last updated: 2026-06-11

By Harry Soar. Published 2026-06-11.

A pizza menu looks simple and is structurally the most demanding menu in hospitality: three sizes, multiple bases, half-and-half splits, topping prices that vary by size, meal deals stacked on top. An online pizza ordering system earns its place on exactly that - modifier depth, honest delivery zones, and keeping the regulars ordering direct instead of through a 25–30% marketplace. Here's the checklist, written for the counter, not the brochure.

## What pizza menus break first

- **Modifier depth.** Size × base × toppings × extras, with prices that change by size. Test any platform with your gnarliest item - the meal deal with a choice of two pizzas - before you commit. If the demo wobbles there, service will too
- **Delivery zones with real fees.** Flat-fee-everywhere either overcharges the flat above the shop or subsidises the order three miles out. Zone-based fees and minimums are the floor - it was one of [GloriaFood operators' longest-running complaints](https://storekit.com/blog/alternatives-to-gloriafood-online-ordering-system-for-restaurants-2023) that fees couldn't track distance
- **Pacing.** Friday 7pm is an oven-capacity problem. Pre-order and capacity controls let the system take tomorrow's orders without burying tonight's
- **Repeat ordering.** Pizza is the most habitual order there is - same house, same Friday, same large pepperoni. The system should know that guest and make the reorder one tap, because that habit is your business

## The commission maths, pizza edition

High frequency plus delivery-heavy means aggregator commission bites pizza harder than any other category. At 25–30%, a pizzeria doing £5,000/month through marketplaces hands over £1,250–1,500 - every month, for orders from regulars who'd happily order direct if the direct route were as easy. The strategy isn't leaving the marketplaces overnight; it's making sure every box, flyer, and counter card carries your own ordering link, and letting the regulars migrate themselves. Direct on Storekit costs 3.9% + 20p with [no monthly fee](https://storekit.com/blog/free-online-ordering-system) - the gap between that and 30% is your margin coming home.

## Running on GloriaFood?

Pizzerias were core GloriaFood users, and the clock applies: the platform shuts on 30 April 2027. Your modifier-heavy menu is precisely the data you don't want to rebuild from memory - [export it](https://storekit.com/blog/how-to-export-gloriafood-data), then run the [week-by-week playbook](https://storekit.com/blog/gloriafood-migration-playbook). The importer carries menu, modifiers, zones, and promotions across, and you review the diff - half-and-half logic included - before anything goes live.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does a pizza menu need that generic menus don't?

Deep modifiers (size, base, half-and-half, size-dependent topping prices), zoned delivery fees, pacing controls, and one-tap reordering.

### Why does commission hit pizza hardest?

High frequency and delivery share mean the percentage applies to more of your revenue. Direct ordering pays back faster for pizzerias than almost anyone.

### I'm on GloriaFood - what now?

Export your data, plan the move before 30 April 2027, and test your hardest menu item on whatever you pick next. [Start here](https://storekit.com/start).

> Nobody's loyal to an app. They're loyal to the pizza. Make sure the ordering belongs to the pizzeria.

## Questions

### What should a pizza ordering system handle that a generic one might not?

Deep modifier support - sizes, bases, half-and-half toppings, extras with their own prices - plus delivery zones with sensible fees, order timing the kitchen can pace, and repeat-ordering features, since pizza is the most habitual order in hospitality.

### Why do marketplace commissions hit pizzerias especially hard?

Pizza is high-frequency and delivery-heavy, so a 25–30% aggregator commission applies to a larger share of total revenue than in most restaurant categories. Moving regulars to direct ordering pays back faster for pizzerias than almost anyone else.

### I run my pizzeria on GloriaFood - what should I do?

Plan your move before the 30 April 2027 shutdown. Export your data first - your guest list especially - then migrate to a platform that handles your modifier depth. The importer brings menu, modifiers, zones, and promotions across for review.