We investigate the reaction mechanism of the φ-meson photoproduction off the proton target, i.e., γp → φp, up to √ s = 2.8 GeV. For this purpose, we employ an effective Lagrangian approach in the tree-level Born approximation, and we employ various experimental and theoretical inputs. As a theoretical setup, the vectorlike Pomeron (C = +1) is taken into account as a parameterized two-gluon exchange contribution. We also consider f1(1285) axial-vector-meson, (π, η) pseudoscalarmeson, and (a0, f0) scalar-meson exchanges in the t channel, in addition to the experimentally confirmed nucleon resonances, such as N * (2000, 5/2 + ) and N * (2300, 1/2 + ), for the direct φ-meson radiations in the s and u channels. We provide numerical results for the total and differential cross sections as well as the spin-density matrices in the Gottfried-Jackson, Adair, and helicity frames. We observe that, together with the universally accepted pomeron contribution, the considered meson and nucleon-resonance contributions play significant roles in reproducing the experimental data for the forward and backward φ-meson scattering-angle regions, respectively, indicating the nontrivial interferences between mesonic and baryonic contributions.