I developed and distributed a trial version of a PHP software I sell. I used ioncube to encode the PHP source and check the installation date online. It works pretty well but the problem is that most of the users who downloaded the trial don't even install it, probably because they realize they need to edit php.ini and copy the ioncube loader somewhere in their computers.
Almost all the similar questions on stackoverflow advise ioncube, zend or similar solution...could you advise a simpler (from the point of view of the user) solution? I don't care if it is less secure than ioncube, I'm ok if it works and prevent cracking for most of the user.
Thanks in advance.
PHP is a scripting language, and it can be quite easy to decode (and disable the trial functionality)
What you could try is hosting it on a demo server, granting access to that for a limited time, and then later revoke access when the trial period is over