A reference list for html, like used in markdown for links and images

Question

One of the most important things making markdown readable, is the reference list, containing the urls of links and images, which then appear in the visible text as [name_link] as a very calm and readable substitution for the real link in the ref list.( [name_link](https://example.com) )

I've always admired this technique. My question is: can someone show me a way to do this in html in stead of md? If possible without heavy coding, preferably just html/css ;) I don't mind reading short tags in a html source text, like <b>,<p>,<h2>, etc.., but it would be great if we could get rid of the longer ones for links and images!****

Gratefully!
bert

[Edit April 22] Maybe I should explain a little better. I'm working on a little project for webwriters, trying to improve the experience of writing in html directly as much as possible, so that , once the original fears for html are gone, it becomes a viable alternative to wysiwyg or markdown. Goal is to make it even easier than those... I'm a professional amateur... If interested, see featherweb