Insert Special Characters

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share 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.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.

1. ★★★★★ olistic

   1.8y ago

   Easy and useful. I like it!

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ LonelyPilgrim

   2.2y 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 ↗
3. ★★★★★ Chaz DeSimone

   5.9y 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 ↗
4. ★★★★★ burnuser

   6.8y ago

   Thank You! It solves a big problem in Gutenberg, which misses this function!

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ GoddessNYC

   6.9y 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 ↗
6. ★★★★★ Anonymous

   7.0y 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 ↗
7. ★★★★★ tomdavis360

   7.0y 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 ↗
8. ★★★★★ Martin Sauter

   7.0y 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 ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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

9 disclosed vulnerabilities on record for this plugin, all fixed in the current version. Sites on older versions stay exposed until they update.

1. Critical · 9.8 simple-git < 3.15.0 - Remote Code Execution ↗
   2022-12-05 CVE-2022-25912 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') Affects <= 1.0.5 Patched in 1.0.6
2. Medium · 5.4 loader-utils (JS package) < 2.0.3 - Prototype Pollution ↗
   2022-10-12 CVE-2022-37601 Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes Affects <= 1.0.5 Patched in 1.0.6
3. Low · 3.7 loader-utils (JS package) < 3.2.1 - Regular Expression Denial of Service ↗
   2022-10-11 CVE-2022-37599 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption Affects <= 1.0.5 Patched in 1.0.6
4. Low · 3.7 loader-utils (JS package) < 3.2.1 - Regular Expression Denial of Service ↗
   2022-10-11 CVE-2022-37603 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption Affects <= 1.0.5 Patched in 1.0.6
5. High · 7.5 guzzlehttp/psr7 <= 1.84 and 2.0.0-2.1.0 - Improper Input Validation ↗
   2022-07-19 CVE-2022-24775 Improper Input Validation Affects <= 1.0.4 Patched in 1.0.5
6. 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
7. High · 7.8 async <= 2.6.3 and 3-3.2.2 - Prototype Pollution ↗
   2022-04-07 CVE-2021-43138 Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes Affects <= 1.0.4 Patched in 1.0.5
8. Critical · 9.8 Minimist <= 1.2.5 - Prototype Pollution ↗
   2022-03-18 Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes Affects <= 1.0.4 Patched in 1.0.5
9. 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

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.7

Translated into 6 languages, 2 at 90% or more

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2025-11-24 4K+ → 3K+ down after 276 days in tier
2. 2025-02-21 3K+ → 4K+ up after 83 days in tier
3. 2024-11-30 4K+ → 3K+ down after 123 days in tier
4. 2024-07-30 3K+ → 4K+ up after 1 days in tier
5. 2024-07-29 4K+ → 3K+ down after 6 days in tier
6. 2024-07-23 3K+ → 4K+ up after 18 days in tier
7. 2024-07-05 4K+ → 3K+ down after 58 days in tier
8. 2024-05-08 3K+ → 4K+ up

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).

• Hawaiian Characters 30+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D
• 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 60+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag D
• R Remove Special Characters 30+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag D
• M Mana Symbols 20+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag D

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Insert Special Characters: 3K+ active installs, 4.9★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/insert-special-characters