SOVELTA 1.10.2 — install or rename an existing FORMA website

Fresh installation
1. Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme: sovelta-1.10.2.zip. Activate Sovelta.
2. Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin: sovelta-core-1.10.2.zip. Activate Sovelta Core for projects, enquiries and the visual editor.
3. Optionally install the separately supplied sovelta-pro-1.10.2.zip. Pro needs Core. A theme ZIP must never be uploaded as a plugin.

Existing Forma Studio / Forma Core / Forma Pro installation
1. Back up files and database and test these steps on a staging copy. Also export Appearance > Website design settings and save Additional CSS separately before switching.
2. Deactivate Forma Pro, then Forma Core. Keep both old plugins installed; do not uninstall.
3. Upload and activate Sovelta Core first.
4. Upload Sovelta under Appearance > Themes, then activate it directly from Forma Studio. Existing Sovelta appearance settings are preserved; if none exist, Core copies the previous appearance, logo and menu assignments. Native Additional CSS is copied into a separate record so later Sovelta changes cannot edit the old theme's CSS.
5. Upload and activate Sovelta Pro if you use it.
6. Check your homepage, menu, logo, projects, enquiries, private drafts, contact settings and any child-theme/custom-code integration. Keep the backup and the old inactive files until those checks are complete.

If automatic copying cannot complete, WordPress may still activate the theme. Existing Sovelta settings and Additional CSS, including an intentionally empty CSS record, take precedence and are never overwritten. If the appearance or CSS is missing, use your saved design export and the native logo, menu and Additional CSS controls to restore it manually. Keep the old theme records and backup; do not delete Sovelta settings to force a migration retry. A concurrent destination change can leave an unused CSS copy, which is retained rather than removed automatically.

Do not activate the old and new edition together. The new plugin deliberately stays inert when the old edition is active, preventing duplicate function declarations and hooks. In a network, first review network activation with your administrator.

Theme-only users: before switching, export Appearance > Website design settings and save Additional CSS separately. Import the design file after activation and restore/review logo, menus, Additional CSS and extension settings. Native theme activation can create new settings before the new theme loads, so automatic theme-only copying is deliberately limited. Child themes need their Template header changed to sovelta deliberately; their separate settings are not automatically copied.

Content compatibility
Saved forma_* post types, metadata, options, blocks, shortcodes, REST routes, CSS selectors, hooks and cryptographic identifiers remain intentionally unchanged. Their presence is not old public branding. Existing appearance exports remain readable. There is no bulk rewrite of stored customer content.

An old coordinated FORMA installation plan remains retained and cannot run as a Sovelta plan. Explicitly discard it after reviewing your backup, then use the normal individual WordPress installers for this rename. New Sovelta coordinated kits are private Pro tools and require a separate review and confirmation.

Optional private Pro updates retain the existing connection/key protocol and reject packages for the old plugin folder. The hosted update/account catalogue remains the earlier FORMA catalogue; use the supplied Sovelta Pro ZIP for this release. Installed local features keep working without a connection. No payment or checkout availability is changed by the rename.

Later Sovelta releases replace the same Sovelta folders through WordPress, without uninstalling. Renaming a folder is not an in-place update of an old Forma installation.