Insert Special Characters
by 10up · Uncategorized
Also makes 22 other plugins · 1.4M+ installs across the portfolio →
A Special Character inserter for the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg).
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 87/100
Few reviews
Active installs
3K+
≈3.5K estimated
Momentum
-0%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “symbols” for “entity”. “symbols” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #13. “entity” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
87 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.5%
of downloads still active
At least 3K of 84.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 46 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.9★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.21★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
0 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
17%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.0
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| characters | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| special | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| special characters your tag | #1 | #3 | 0 |
| character | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| character inserter your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| omega your tag | #2 | #1 | 0 |
| character map your tag | #3 | #8 | 0 |
| popover | #3 | #4 | up 1 |
| euro | #3 | #5 | 0 |
| inserter | #5 | #4 | 0 |
| insert map wordpress | #3 | #6 | up 1 |
| insert | #9 | #20 | 0 |
| insert javascript | #6 | #17 | up 1 |
| entity | #6 | #11 | 0 |
| symbols your tag | #13 | #17 | down 3 |
| callback | #13 | #12 | down 1 |
| map md | #10 | #7 | 0 |
| shortcut | #24 | #22 | down 1 |
46 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 18 listed. 28 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Swap “symbols” for “entity”. “symbols” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #13. “entity” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “symbols”. #13 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 4.2K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
6mo ago
latest release · v1.1.3 · 12 May 2026
12
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 91% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “3K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 11 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 11 Mar 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ olistic2.0y ago
Easy and useful. I like it!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ LonelyPilgrim2.4y ago
As a lover of em dashes, en dashes, diacritics, and typography and Unicode in general, and a pedant for using the precise, proper characters where they are appropriate, this plugin does exactly what I need it to do. It works very similarly to the insert-special-characters feature of MediaWiki’s VisualEditor plugin, which I also love. Bravo for this, and please keep up the good work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Chaz DeSimone6.1y ago
THANK YOU! I am a typographer from way back when I was hand-setting (and pieing — the term for spilling) little pieces of metal in the forms of letters, numbers & dingbats. Special Characters is the WordPress feature I have missed most in Gutenberg, and your plugin is the first & only that makes inserting Special Characters easy and enjoyable. Look for a donation from this old type lover! ❤
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ burnuser7.0y ago
Thank You! It solves a big problem in Gutenberg, which misses this function!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ GoddessNYC7.1y ago
Thank you for this great plugin! WHY special characters are STILL absent from the Gutenberg WordPress editor — though it has been requested numerous times — is quite the annoyance. This plugin is perfect! Thanks again!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous7.2y ago
This is perfect for me. Thanks for developing it!If there was an option to move it to the main toolbar without the need to use the dropdown, it would be a six-star product
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tomdavis3607.2y ago
This functionality has been missed and was surprised that it was omitted from Gutenberg. But, these folks did a great job. I loaded it to two sites and then edited posts adding special characters easily. Martin’s suggestions about the location of the icon and automatically sorting by most used is on target. I join him in asking for those improvements. Mostly, I want to say thank you!!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Martin Sauter7.2y ago
This plugin adds a much needed functionality to the Gutenberg editor, and it works fine. To make it perfect for me it should be placed directly in the toolbar (not in a toolbar dropdown) and have a “last used” palette.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- 2024-11-18 Version 1.1.3 Changed: Update the UI to be more consistent with WordPress core props ( @psorensen , @fabiankaegy via #263 ). Changed: Clean up NPM dependencies and update node to v20 (props @Sidsector9 , @dkotter via #238 ). Changed: 1.1.3
- 2024-01-08 Version 1.1.2 Added: Support for the WordPress.org plugin preview (props @dkotter , @jeffpaul via #232 ). Fixed: Issue with blocks crashing due to faux caret (props @Sidsector9 , @dkotter , @ankitguptaindia via #225 ). Fixed: Issue wi 1.1.2
- 2023-10-17 Version 1.1.1 Fixed: Address an issue where some blocks would crash due to a missing attribute (props @dkotter via #221 ). Security: Bump @babel/traverse from 7.20.5 to 7.23.2 (props @dependabot , @dkotter via #219 ). 1.1.1
- 2023-10-16 Version 1.1.0 Added: Show a faux cursor to preserve context (props @Sidsector9 , @helen , @ravinderk via #207 ). Added: Check for minimum required PHP version before loading the plugin (props @kmgalanakis , @peterwilsoncc via #210 ). 1.1.0
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 9 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.1.3). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2022-10-12 CVE-2022-37601 Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes Affects <= 1.0.5 Patched in 1.0.6
- Patched High · 7.5 semver-regex <= 3.1.3 and 4.0.0-4.0.3 - Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) ↗2022-05-13 CVE-2021-43307 Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity Affects <= 1.0.4 Patched in 1.0.5
- 2022-04-07 CVE-2021-43138 Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes Affects <= 1.0.4 Patched in 1.0.5
- 2022-03-18 Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes Affects <= 1.0.4 Patched in 1.0.5
- Patched High · 7.5 ansi-regex >=2.1.1 <3.0.1 >=4.0.0 <4.1.1 >=5.0.0 <5.0.1 >=6.0.0 <6.0.1 - Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) ↗2021-09-09 Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity Affects <= 1.0.4 Patched in 1.0.5
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.7
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 6 languages, 2 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
5 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A Special Character inserter for the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg)."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg, Block editor.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,502 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "Character Map", "Omega" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-11-24 4K+ → 3K+ down after 276 days in tier
- 2025-02-21 3K+ → 4K+ up after 83 days in tier
- 2024-11-30 4K+ → 3K+ down after 123 days in tier
- 2024-07-30 3K+ → 4K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-07-29 4K+ → 3K+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2024-07-23 3K+ → 4K+ up after 18 days in tier
- 2024-07-05 4K+ → 3K+ down after 58 days in tier
- 2024-05-08 3K+ → 4K+ up after 665 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
TypeAnySymbol – Unicode Symbol Picker — installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Hawaiian Characters 30+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
Wash Care Symbols for WooCommerce 100+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag D -
Remove Special Characters on Upload 90+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag D -
Password Generator 70+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag D - R Remove Special Characters 20+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Insert Special Characters into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/insert-special-characters" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Insert Special Characters — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Insert Special Characters: 3K+ active installs, 4.9★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/insert-special-characters
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