How to prepare Custom Google search for a site redesign

Question

I work for an educational institution and we are using Google custom search for our search function.

We are redesigning our site, and changing the look and the paths of many of the pages.

The new redesigned site is protected and is only visible from within our network.

How do I prepare for the day when we switch over to the new site? How long will it take to re-index?

Should I create a non-protected site with a different domainname and let Google index that?

I don't know how to go about the switch from old site to new.

Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

There is no guarantee of how long it will take to reindex. What you might do is use 301 redirects to key pages. One thing you can do to expedite the indexing process is use Google Webmaster tools and create a sitemap.