If you need to migrate from one domain to another then you need to ensure that you plan and execute your move to perfection to achieve seamless transition. You can lose a lot of existing and potential customers as well as ranking in case of migration miscalculations.
One important tip is to take only one step at a time. In case you need to migrate from one domain to another then make sure that you focus only on migration instead of trying to implement changes in your content, design, or structure. If you plan to change your TLD (Top Level Domain) then you need to certainly focus only on that single factor.
Not only will search engines find it easier to track your new domain, but in addition, you too will find it easier to locate and rectify any issues that may crop up during and after the migration.
You will also need to compile a list of each and every URL on your website in order to provide an appropriate redirect for each of them. This is also a good time to weed out undesired, outdated, and ignored URLs that do not have any business being on your new site. You can use tools such as Screaming Frog or Xenu or can just get the list of your URLs from your database or alternatively from server logs.
You need to consider loss in traffic as well as ranking during the migration process. Some of your webpages may lose internal link equity. According to Google, a 301 redirect dissipates PageRank that is equivalent to one dissipating through a link. However, if your domain migration proceeds without a hitch then you may only register negligible loss in traffic and ranking.
If you manage to improve other aspects of your website after domain migration such as improving content, navigation, structure, etc., then you can certainly witness lower bounce rates and higher average visit duration. As mentioned above, making other major changes such as changing your platform should be executed only after a successful domain migration transition.
In case you have a huge website with countless URLs, it also makes sense to feature multiple sitemaps for different sections of your website. A sitemap can only hold 50,000 URLs and if you feel that you may need a lot more in the future then you can opt for multiple sitemaps to expand seamlessly.
Once you have completed your domain migration without any major hitch, you need to begin tracking your new domain. You may notice a temporary buzz as you may have engaged in a publicity campaign to inform the world of your move and so analyzing the migration over a longer period of time will help you measure just how successful you have been.
Use the above tips and work together with all your teams to ensure seamless transition during domain migration.