I changed the menu to left side from a static top menu.
Because my menu is so wide, it takes ½ the content away. On larger pages, after sufficient space, I go full width on content…
should I leave the menu as it is?
should I go back to static top menu?
thank you for your time and answers
Top menu. Too much wasted space causing extreme scrolling.
Yeah 
I think your right… the new shiny left menu when it came out was calling my name…
It does lead to more exploration… but takes up too much space…
Working on converting it back… now many pages are just menu, header and text - now I see I need to add a picture to liven things up 
lol 
Some have video headers - but too many are plain…
The only ‘problem’ is free stuff - I have a lot of free content… when you click in the top menu you can only see the first 20ish items - the rest go off the screen…
When you have that many items, I think it’s better to list them on a page, rather than in a menu
Navigation is just as important as the links you include in your content when it comes to helping visitors move through your site. Both work together to guide people—navigation gives the big picture and shows where they can go, while in-content links point them toward related or deeper content as they read.
When you’re designing your navigation, think of it as gently leading visitors to explore more of your site. It’s not there to answer every question; it’s there to tease the next step, nudging people along until they’re ready to take action. If your design, content, and pre-selling process are solid, the navigation will naturally help turn interest into whatever action you want—whether that’s a sale, a sign-up, or something else.
Good navigation should be easy to find, simple to use, and guide people naturally. Clear labels, a logical structure, and consistent placement make sure visitors don’t get lost—they just move smoothly from one page to the next.
In its current version the tree navigation has a lot of limitations. It is not properly supported for mobile use like the main nav bar. Also you cannot customize it for driving the site visitor to content and the call-to-action. So switching it back and not using it is probably best. The top nav option is okay but requires a folder and that confuses site visitors with extra layers that click to nowhere. So for now the only good option is the main navigation until Elements matures.
Thank you for your post - very good advice…
Thank you 
Fixed it!