Unicode Character Keyboard
by Terry O'Brien (HoosierDragon) · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 2 other plugins · 60+ installs across the portfolio →
Admin widget on the Write Post or Write Page forms for inserting HTML encodings of Unicode characters into the edit window.
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
D 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
40+
≈46 estimated
Momentum
+100%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin widget”, “html special characters” and “post widget” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
45 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 40 of 4.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,189 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.3.34, well behind 6.8.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 4008 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.3.34; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4008 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
31
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.4
Velocity
places per keyword, 20d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 20d
-0.4
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| admin widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| html special characters your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| write page your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| write post your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
10 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 10 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “admin widget”, “html special characters” and “post widget” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 83 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #21,400 to #22,800, alongside the other plugins at 40+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
11.0y ago
latest release · v1.2 · 11 Nov 2015
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “40+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 60% of the way through.
Install history since 17 Aug 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Type Historian10.8y ago
I use it for three sites–two of them are WP 4.4.1. Especially helpful for superscript numerals in footnote citations. LUV IT!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Freedomji13.8y ago
Finally, someone has made this process easy. This allows me to simply add transliteration and other characters to my website that can be read on any computer. The author has been great to update with all requests.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4
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 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Admin widget on the Write Post or Write Page forms for inserting HTML encodings of Unicode characters into..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 2 lists.
- ! Enough to quote 771 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "Post Widget" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-09 50+ → 40+ down after 80 days in tier
- 2026-03-21 60+ → 50+ down after 16 days in tier
- 2026-03-05 70+ → 60+ down after 33 days in tier
- 2026-01-31 80+ → 70+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-01-29 70+ → 80+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-01-26 80+ → 70+ down after 44 days in tier
- 2025-12-13 90+ → 80+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-12-12 80+ → 90+ up after 6 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).
-
HTML Special Characters Helper 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags D -
Social LikeBox & Feed 10K+ installs · 3.5★ · 1 shared tag B -
Admin Dashboard RSS Feed 500+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag A - A AK Featured Post Widget 400+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag D
- P Post Snippet 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag
-
WP Post Widget 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Unicode Character Keyboard into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/unicode-character-keyboard" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Unicode Character Keyboard — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Unicode Character Keyboard: 40+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/unicode-character-keyboard
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