The only limitation with this software without a paid license are the links. It's not crippled in any way--those who want to use it without a paid license may do so without any restriction of available features or options, and only have to settle with the links being enabled, which isn't all that bad. If someone wants to "try before they buy," they are free to do so, and can purchase a license when they feel ready to invest money into their site.

If you want to improve Dolphin, you should see more release mods for the community in the market, write documentation in the wiki, or help out in the forums.